KPT sends $2m recovery notice to Hutchison.

ISLAMABAD -- The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has served a $2 million recovery notice to Hutchison Ports Pakistan (HPP) - the operator of the deep-water Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT) since 1998 - for not fulfilling the terms of the agreement.

According to the sources, HPP was to pay a $21.6m royalty to KPT under the agreement but Hutchison paid only $19.6m related to rental charges and royalties for land leased to the company in 2005.

Non-payment by the KICT has allegedly caused a significant financial loss to the national exchequer and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is investigating the allotment of land to KICT.

The initial reports suggest that malpractices by both the KPT and the KICT have caused a staggering financial dent of Rs22 billion to the national exchequer.

NAB was investigating the alleged illegal allotment of additional...