KARACHI: Protesting fishermen blockaded Karachi port, assembling their trawlers across the main channel to halt all traffic in and out of Pakistan's busiest port, officials said on Wednesday.
Karachi is the most important port in the country for movement of commodities and vehicles, and the disruption prompted the city's business chamber to raise its concern that some vessels could turn away to avoid the costs of delay.
The fishermen from Sindh province were protesting restrictions on them entering the waters off neighboring Balochistan province.
“I hope talks to resolve the issue will resume on Wednesday afternoon,” Mahmood Maulvi, advisor to the Prime Minister Imran Khan on Maritime Affairs, told Reuters.
An earlier round of talks failed on Tuesday.
Port Qasim, which handles most container traffic and lies to the east of Karachi, was functioning normally, but the business community in Pakistan's economic hub were worried that shipping companies would seek to avoid a port backed up with vessels waiting to be handled.
"If this continues there are fears that some ships might return to the high seas," Muhammad Idress, president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), said in a statement.
"This causes huge losses to the economy and business community," he added.
There were mass protests by fishermen and ordinary people in the Baluchistan port city of Gwadar in December, to press demands for authorities to take action against illegal trawling by Chinese commercial fishing trawlers, and vessels from Sindh.
They were also protesting over a lack of basic facilities like power and water, and the restrictions on their movement and access to the sea resulting from the high level of security for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that runs through the province.
To end the month-long protest, the provincial government agreed to most of the demands.
The fisheries department, coast guard and Maritime Security Agency are carrying out joint patrols to stop trawlers from Sindh coming into Balochistan waters.
Authorities in Balochistan detained around half a dozen fishing trawlers from Sindh last week, Tariq-ur-Rehman, Director General Balochistan Fisheries department said.
It was unclear what action was being taken to prevent Chinese fishing vessels for entering.
Protesting Pakistani fishermen block Karachi port
https://arab.news/44k8w
Protesting Pakistani fishermen block Karachi port
- Fishermen from Sindh province were protesting restrictions on them entering the waters off neighboring Balochistan province
- There were mass protests by fishermen and ordinary people in the Baluchistan port city of Gwadar in December last year
Pakistan in talks with Saudi Arabia, China, banks for $2 billion refinery expansion— official
- Islamabad seeks to expand Pakistan Refinery Limited’s crude oil processing capacity from 50,000 bpsd to 100,000 bpsd, says official
- Official says three-year project would need $2 billion investment, with 60-70 percent to be raised through debt financing
KARACHI: Pakistan’s government and the state-owned Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) are in talks with Saudi Arabia, China, global commercial banks and financial institutions to secure funding for a $2 billion refinery expansion project, an official said on Tuesday.
The PRL is an energy company located in Pakistan’s commercial hub Karachi. With a processing capacity of 50,000 barrels of crude oil per day, it supplies refined petroleum products countrywide. It is a subsidiary of the state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO), which owns 63.56 percent of its shares.
Pakistan is seeking partners that can finance PRL’s Refinery Expansion and Upgrade Project (REUP). The official confirmed that REUP is part of Pakistan’s Brownfield Refinery Policy, which aims to upgrade the nation’s five existing oil refineries to deep conversion refineries, with a combined crude processing capacity of about 350,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd). The total project cost to upgrade these five refineries has been estimated at $5-6 billion.
“We are in contact with Saudis, Chinese, Export Credit Agencies and Development Finance Institutions and others to obtain the financing and firms have shown interest,” an official with direct knowledge of the development told Arab News on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media.
The official said that the government was in talks with investors in Saudi Arabia while the PRL was in contact with the Chinese government and ECAs, DFIs and global commercial banks.
The PRL aims to double the crude processing capacity of its Karachi hydro-skimming plant to 100,000 bpsd, produce Euro V-compliant motor spirit and diesel, meet evolving environmental standards and decrease Pakistan’s reliance on imported fuels.
The move would help Pakistan reduce its reliance on costly fuel imports. The South Asian country imported petroleum products worth $16 billion in fiscal year 2025, more than 27 percent of its total imports.
“The project is estimated at $2 billion and is to be implemented in 36 months with debt ranging between 60-70 percent,” the official said.
He added that potential investors may secure an equity stake in the project.
Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik visited Saudi Arabia earlier this month to lead a high-level delegation at the Future Minerals Summit. There, he reportedly met investors and briefed them on REUP.
Malik and the petroleum ministry spokesperson Zafar Abbas did not respond to Arab News’ request for comments on the matter.
The official said Saudi authorities have asked Pakistan to brief them on the project. He said the government has planned an official visit “in the near future” to the Kingdom, where Saudi investors would be given the required briefing.
The official said once the required financing is available, PRL would aim to achieve REUP’s financial close by December and begin work on the project in January 2027.
“All our potential financers are expected to undertake due diligence of the project in the coming months,” the official said.
Sheikh Imran ul Haque, project director of the PRL, said the company was making steady and measurable progress on REUP, a strategically significant initiative designed to enhance refining capabilities and product quality.
“PRL has successfully completed detailed technical and commercial evaluations with EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) bidders,” he told Arab News.
Haque said the company’s next target is signing the EPC contract in the first quarter of 2026.
He said this would be followed by the financial close at the end of the year, marking the formal transition of REUP from its development phase to the execution one.
Pakistan has desperately tried to reform its economy by looking for cheaper sources of fuel. Its refining sector has long struggled with aging infrastructure, limited upgrading and thin margins.
Industry officials argue that over-reliance on imports increases exposure to global price volatility, shipping disruptions and foreign exchange pressure.
