Minister urges swift launch of Pakistan's first ferry service, licensing reforms
Pakistan has been mulling routes for a ferry service it plans to launch to connect its southwestern Gwadar port with the Gulf region, according to the country's maritime affairs ministry.
Five privately-owned firms submitted their proposals, showing growing interest of the private sector, as officials reviewed technical and financial aspects of ferry operations last month.
Highlighting broader benefits of sea travel, Chaudhry pointed out that ferry services could provide an affordable and reliable travel solution for pilgrims aspiring to visit Iran and Iraq.
'Beyond tourism and business, this service can greatly facilitate religious travel. We can offer pilgrims a new, secure, and cost-efficient option for their journeys,' he was quoted as saying by his ministry.
'Every year, 700,000 to 1,000,000 Pakistani zaireen (pilgrims) travel to Iran and Iraq. If even 20 percent opt for ferries in the first three years, that's 140,000 to 200,000 passengers annually, representing significant economic potential.'
The development comes amid Pakistan's efforts to capitalize on its geostrategic location to boost transit trade as it slowly recovers from a macroeconomic crisis under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
The country also plans to cut container dwell time at its seaports by up to 70 percent to improve trade competitiveness and ease congestion, while it last month reduced port charges for exporters by 50 percent at the second largest Port Qasim.
During a briefing by Ports and Shipping Director-General Alia Shahid on Friday, Chaudhry directed digitization of the ferry licensing process and its integration into the Pakistan Single Window platform, similar to existing ship registrations, to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks.
He specifically ordered the reduction of the current six-month license issuance period to just one month.
'There's no justification for a half-year delay. We must eliminate red tape and act decisively,' the minister said.
He called for exploring flexible financial models for ferry operators to attract private sector participation.
'We must assess whether a bank guarantee, insurance guarantee, or a hybrid model is most viable,' Chaudhry said. 'Our aim is to support not hinder entrepreneurs who wish to invest in this sector.'
Pakistan is currently holding consultations with stakeholders, including private operators and regional maritime authorities, regarding the ferry service, according to the maritime affairs ministry.
A pilot launch is expected in the coming weeks after the finalization of feasibility studies and regulatory frameworks.
'If implemented effectively, this service could become a vital new transport link across the region,' Chaudhry added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
13 minutes ago
- Arab News
Pakistan sets up separate immigration counters for foreigners to boost tourism, investment
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has established separate immigration counters for foreigners at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport to reduce clearance delays, an official said on Sunday, with the facility to be extended to airports nationwide. The development follows Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's directives to authorities this year to improve services at airports across Pakistan to facilitate passengers, businesspeople, tourists and overseas Pakistanis as part of the country's efforts to boost tourism and foreign investment. Pakistan, bolstered by a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, is currently making efforts for export-led economic growth and has signed several agreements and memorandums of understanding with a number of countries, particularly those in the Gulf and Central Asia. 'Practical steps have been initiated to improve the immigration system and new immigration counters have been established for foreign passengers at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore this week,' Mehmood Ali Khokhar, a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) spokesperson, told Arab News. 'With these new counters, foreign travelers will no longer face unnecessary delays in immigration clearance.' Pakistan's travel and tourism market is projected to grow at an annual rate of 6.75 percent between 2025 and 2029 to reach an estimated market volume of $5.53 billion by 2029, according to Statista, a German online platform that specializes in data gathering. Similar immigration counters would gradually be established at all international airports across the country, according to Khokhar. This would also make the immigration process faster and easier for Pakistani citizens returning home. 'The purpose of these measures is to upgrade immigration services to meet international standards,' he added.
Arab News
43 minutes ago
- Arab News
Pakistan to dispatch today 100 tons of humanitarian aid for Palestine
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will be sending today, Sunday, 100 tons of humanitarian aid supplies for Palestine, the authority said. The development comes days after Israel allowed aid into Gaza and lifted months of blockade of the territory, following international outcry stoked by images of malnourished children, however, the scale is deemed woefully insufficient by international organizations. Nearly 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip while waiting for aid since May 27, the majority by the Israeli army, the United Nations said on Friday. The Israeli army denies any targeting, insisting it only fires 'warning shots' when people approach too close to its positions. The NDMA said it had completed preparations to send a 100-ton consignment carrying relief items for Palestine and the aid flight will depart from the Islamabad airport on Sunday evening. 'A hundred tons of aid will reach Amman, Jordan through a special flight,' it said. 'The aid consignment consists of food items and medicines.' International organizations have for months condemned the restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on aid distribution in Gaza, including refusing to issue border crossing permits, slow customs clearance, limited access points, and imposing dangerous routes. Pakistan, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, has consistently condemned Israeli military actions and called for the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Palestinian territory. The South Asian country last month used its presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to refocus global attention on the crisis in Gaza. 'The NDMA will send a total of 200 tons of relief goods to Palestine through special flights,' it said, adding the authority had so far sent a total of 1,715 tons of aid to Palestine.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
UK to take in hundreds of children from Gaza for medical treatment
India wraps up mass Hindu pilgrimage in contested Kashmir SRINAGAR, India: More than 400,000 Hindus took part in a month-long pilgrimage in contested Indian-run Kashmir, authorities said, shrugging off security worries weeks after conflict with Pakistan. The pilgrimage began on July 3 and closes officially on August 9, but organizers said that lashing rains had damaged narrow paths forcing a premature end. Official Vijay Kumar Bidhuri said in a statement late Saturday that 415,000 pilgrims had taken part. Many of the faithful began their trek to the Amarnath ice pillar from near Pahalgam, where gunmen on April 22 killed 26 mostly Hindu tourists in the Muslim-majority region. New Delhi said the gunmen were backed by Pakistan, claims Islamabad rejected — triggering a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures that escalated into a four-day conflict. It was the worst standoff by the nuclear-armed nations since 1999, with more than 70 people killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides, before a May 10 ceasefire. New Delhi last week said that three Pakistani men who carried out the Pahalgam attack were killed during a gunbattle on July 28 in forests adjacent to the hills where the cave shrine is located. A few devotees may still visit the cave, but the numbers this year fall short of the estimated half a million devotees who took part in 2024. Officials appealed to Hindus to undertake the pilgrimage, ramping up security for the event by deploying 45,000 troops with high-tech surveillance tools overseeing the grueling trek to the cave, dedicated to Shiva, the deity of destruction. On Sunday, Indian forces exchanged fire with gunmen for a third day in Kulgam, far from the Amarnath pilgrimage route. Soldiers have killed two militants, a senior police officer said. Kashmir has been divided between the India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, with both administering it in part and claiming in full. Rebel groups have fought Indian forces for decades, demanding Kashmir's independence or its merger with Pakistan.
