KARACHI: Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Saturday directed authorities to streamline sugar and cement operations at Port Qasim after reports of severe congestion caused by the slow unloading of sugar consignments disrupted export activities.

The government has been working to ease port bottlenecks that have delayed shipments and raised logistics costs for exporters, particularly in the cement and clinker sectors. The initiative is part of a broader effort to improve operational efficiency and align port management with national trade and logistics priorities.

“Improving operational efficiency is vital to prevent port congestion, which can cause delays, raise costs, and disrupt the supply chain,” Chaudhry told a high-level meeting attended by senior officials from the maritime and commerce ministries, port authorities and the Trading Corporation of Pakistan.

The meeting was informed that sugar was being unloaded at a rate below Port Qasim’s potential capacity. The minister instructed the Port Qasim Authority to optimize discharge operations in line with its daily capacity of about 4,000 to 4,500 tons.

Participants also reviewed directives from the Prime Minister’s Office calling for up to 60 percent of sugar imports to be redirected to Gwadar Port to ease the load on Karachi terminals.

Officials said all vessels at Port Qasim and Karachi Port would now be berthed on a first-come, first-served basis, with penalties to be applied for unnecessary delays.

The TCP was told to improve operational planning and coordinate vessel arrivals more closely with port authorities.

Chaudhry commended the engagement of all participants and said consistent adherence to performance standards was essential to sustaining port efficiency and preventing a recurrence of logistical disruptions.