PICT plans $100m investment, with a caveat.

KARACHI -- One of the four container-terminal operators in Pakistan has vowed to bring in more than $100 million in fresh foreign direct investment shortly - provided that procedural glitches hindering the extension of its concession at the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) are removed immediately.

Speaking to Dawn in a recent interview, Pakistan International Container Terminal Ltd (PICT) CEO Khurram Aziz Khan said the country's only listed entity handling containerised cargo is planning a big-ticket investment in advanced equipment and technology following a net FDI of $20m in 2022.

'We want to do it immediately. We may spend that money in the next 12 months if we reach an understanding with the government. We have six cranes that cost around $12-13m each. We want to add many more to achieve a quicker turnaround for vessels,' he said.

The point of contention is the terminal's concession agreement with KPT for a period of 21 years commencing on June 18, 2002. PICT went to court in December 2021 to stop KPT from terminating the concession agreement or inviting bids for the award of a new contract.

As a consequence, it obtained an interim injunction or stay order for the status quo. However, PICT remains 'optimistic' about the extension of the concession agreement soon.

Mr Khan's optimism is based on the fact that two container terminals - one operated by DP World at Port Qasim and the other run by Hutchison Ports at KPT - have already received some kind of extensions in their original concessions.

Terminals are expensive to build. Port authorities either renegotiate commercial terms with the operators towards the end of...