Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi inaugurated the country’s first bulk cargo terminal earlier this month. The Pakistan International Bulk Terminal (PIBT) at Port Qasim was officially at a ceremony on 13 October, following the completion of commissioning earlier this year.
The new bulk terminal will handle coal, clinker and cement. Constructed at a cost of US$285 million, the terminal handled its first coal cargo back in May.
Equipped with two coal unloaders, the terminal will help feed Pakistan’s developing coal-fired power fleet. In May, Reuters reported that Chinese companies were expected to build close to a dozen coal-fired plants around the country at a cost of around US$15 billion.
The terminal is also equipped with a cement/clinker shiploader that will allow faster exports of the building material.
Built under a 30 year Built-Operate-Transfer agreement with the Port Qasim Authority, the PIBT has the capacity to handle up to 12 million tpy a year and has storage of 62 acres. Equipped with state-of-the-art mechanization and full automation, the terminal drastically reduces current loading/unloading times at Qasim.