KARACHI: Pakistan Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said on Sunday that ports should play a greater role in uplifting linked cities by creating jobs, generating tax revenues, and boosting logistics and industrial activity.
The statement comes as Pakistan looks to expand the role of its ports beyond cargo handling and revenue generation, focusing on how port activity can also support jobs and economic growth in surrounding cities to allow nearby communities to benefit more directly from maritime trade.
Ports in the South Asian nation of 240 million have been experiencing a major surge in traffic and investment, driven by shipping diversions from the Gulf and strategic infrastructure expansion following the United States-Iran conflict which began in late Feb.
“Ports and cities have historically been closely linked, and there is a need to strengthen this relationship,” Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID) quoted Chaudhry as saying.
While economic benefits of sea harbors often extend beyond port regions, their environmental and social impacts are frequently concentrated in port cities, the minister said, stressing the need to restore the role of ports as “drivers of urban economic growth and providers of health care to surrounding communities.”
Chaudhry’s comments come at a time when Pakistan is seeking to turn shipping disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz into a commercial opportunity by attracting transshipment cargo from Gulf ports and boosting container traffic over the next two years.
The strategy is part of Islamabad’s push to position the country as a regional logistics hub, with authorities cutting port charges, expanding transshipment facilities and deepening navigation channels to capitalize on vessels diverted from conflict-hit Gulf ports.
