Pakistan: Unified transhipment policy offers sweeping port concessions to draw regional cargo.
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
Pakistan replaces multiple transhipment concessions with a single performance-linked framework for Karachi Port and Port Qasim, cutting wet charges, wharfage, and THC to attract more regional cargo.
Pakistan has rolled out a consolidated transhipment incentive regime for Karachi Port and Port Qasim, replacing multiple concession notifications with a single framework designed to reduce logistics costs and encourage international shipping lines to route more cargo through the country’s ports.
Announcing the initiative on Wednesday, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said the harmonised package was developed jointly by the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Port Qasim Authority (PQA) and the container terminal operators at both ports.
The policy combines concessions on port charges, wharfage, storage and terminal handling into a unified, performance-linked system covering containerised, bulk and break-bulk transhipment cargo.
A key feature of the package is a tiered reduction in port wet charges based on the proportion of transhipment cargo carried by a vessel. Ships transporting 5-10% transhipment cargo will receive a 20% concession, rising to 30% for vessels carrying 11-25%, 50% for 26-50%, 70% for those carrying between 50% and 90% transhipment cargo with a minimum of 2,000 TEUs for container vessels, and 80% for vessels with 90-100% transhipment cargo, subject to a minimum of 3,500 TEUs.
Separate incentives have also been introduced at the two ports. At Karachi Port, wharfage concessions ranging from 20% to 80% will be available, with the highest concession levels linked to the same minimum TEU requirements. KPT will also provide 14 days of free terminal storage and up to 30 days of free storage at its TPX cargo area for cargo handled under an agent’s responsibility.
Port Qasim Authority, meanwhile, will offer a 100% concession on wharfage charges. In addition, transhipment cargo will qualify for seven days of free storage at terminals, with the storage period extendable to 21 days for cargo moved under the responsibility of shipping agents.
Alongside the port authorities, Pakistan’s four major container terminals have introduced matching reductions in Terminal Handling Charges (THC). Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT), South Asia Pakistan Terminals (SAPTL), Karachi Gateway Terminal Limited (KGTL) and Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT) will provide a 10% THC concession where transhipment cargo accounts for 5-10% of a vessel’s manifest, 20% where it comprises 11-25%, and up to 25% when the share exceeds 25%.
The THC concessions will apply to both 20-foot and 40-foot containers, lowering handling costs for shipping lines using Pakistan as a transhipment point.
According to the maritime minister, the unified framework supersedes all previous transhipment concession notifications and SROs, creating a standardised incentive structure across both Karachi Port and Port Qasim. The government expects the package to improve the competitiveness of Pakistan’s ports and attract greater volumes of regional transhipment traffic.
Reference Link:- https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2026/08/05/unified-transhipment-policy-offers-sweeping-port-concessions-to-draw-regional-cargo
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
