Pakistan: first dry bulk terminal to open in March

Pakistan’s first dry bulk terminal will open next month and is expected to handle 3Mta of coal imports, rising to 20Mt over the next five years, the port’s chief executive said on Thursday.

The US$285m Muhammad Bin Qasim Port, which was built with support from the World Bank, will also be used to export cement and clinker, Sharique Siddiqui, chief executive for Pakistan International Bulk Terminal, told Reuters at a coal conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

Pakistani cement plant and a growing number of coal-fired power plants are expected to provide most of the demand at the new port, Mr Siddiqui said.

Currently, coal ships stop at ports in Karachi and Qasim, where they can stay for up to a week being offloaded manually. The new terminal can complete turnarounds in 24-36 hours.