Majyd
Aziz
PAKISTAN has three seaports. Karachi, the oldest, is the Gateway to
Pakistan; Port Qasim addresses the overflowing ship and cargo movements that
regularly chokes its senior Karachi counterpart; Gwadar Port in Balochistan is
on its way to become the pride of Pakistan and the convenient facilitation
center for China, Central Asian Republics, and even Afghanistan. Then there is
the futuristic Keti Bunder Port, albeit still on the drawing board and in
government files. In essence, Pakistan is endowed with these pearls that are
strategically located and obviously of immense importance in the region as well
as for the movement of global trade.
PAKISTAN has massive deposits of metals such as antimony, chrome ore,
copper, gold, iron ore, manganese, and zinc lead to name a few. In
non-metallic, Pakistan has deposits of aragonite, marble, basalt, agglomerate,
granite, onyx marble, different kinds of clay, barite, dolomite, feldspar,
gypsum, limestone, phosphate, quartz, pumice, rock salt, silica sand, soap
stone, and of course, coal. Over the past many decades, the nation has
gradually inched her way to become a reliable exporter of minerals and,
furthermore, the quality of minerals has been universally accepted as gradually
conforming to international quality and requirement standards. The major
drawbacks in mining are the non-availability of competent technical workforce,
the total reliance on antiquated and manual mining mechanisms that results in
inconsistency of quality and productivity, the lack of quality assurance
testing services at mine mouth or within the proximity, the low availability of
transportation resulting in higher trucking charges, and the difficulty in
accessing the mines due to non-existent road network.
PAKISTAN desperately needs huge investments in augmenting the present
trucking capacity. The perennial shortage of trucks, dumpers, trailers, and
even vans has stymied the movement of goods and commodities all over the
country. Road transport has become imperative to cater to the Afghanistan
Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement, ISAF/NATO forces based in Afghanistan, and
cross-country transportation of petroleum, coal, cement, fruits, and machinery,
to name a few essential items. Moreover, with the advent of China Pakistan
Economic Corridor and its expected economic potential, there would be a huge demand
for vehicles to move the cargo.
PAKISTAN does have political, economic, social, and technological (PEST)
issues that are a matter of grave concern and have dampened the desired
progress. Reliance on external financing with unachievable conditionalities,
continuous shortages of infrastructure, ineffective population control
mechanism, influx of over 3.50 million Afghan refugees that have been a
perpetual burden on resources, the ominous threat of terrorism and extremism,
and lack of vision in providing employment opportunities for the youth bulge
are overarching factors that are negatively impacting and desperately needing
pragmatic solutions.
PAKISTAN however has natural and physical resources that are now being progressively
harnessed to get the 200 million strong nation out of the economic morass and
propel it into the domain of emerging developed nations. CPEC, a $46 plus
investments, loans, and joint ventures package from China, is not just a small
step but also a giant leap towards economic deliverance. The two most important
projects for Pakistan are the Gwadar Port and Thar Coal. The third project that
would bring fabulous benefits, if properly and realistically managed, would be
the minerals that are in abundance all over the country, especially in Balochistan
and Khyber Pakhtun Khwa Provinces.
The success and long-term viability of these projects, and many more,
depend highly on the efficient operations of all the three seaports as well as
the readily availability of multi-modal transportation. These ports have to be
working 24/7, with advanced equipment and processes, with addition of new
facilities such as berths, modern warehouses, utilities, with trained and
skilled manpower, and with a focus on globally competitive rates. These ports require
continuous entry/exit of trucks to ensure fast track movement of discharged
cargo. The minerals sector can become a substantial provider of foreign
exchange through exports if the mines are modernized, accessible, and cost
effective.
These are areas where investors,
suppliers, and financiers from Germany have to zero in, more so if they want to
take long term profitable and worthwhile advantages. It is meaningful to
understand that German manufacturers are well placed to provide top of the line
machinery, equipment, and vehicles that are essential to upgrade these sectors
as well offer the technology, skills and experience that are crucial for
Pakistan's economic drive.
Karachi Port is a deep natural port with an 11.5
km-long navigable channel and a 12.2 meter-deep approach channel and provides
round the clock safe navigation to tankers, modern container vessels, bulk
carriers, and general cargo ships upto 75,000 DWT. The port has 30 dry cargo
and three liquid cargo handling berths including a privately operated modern
container terminal – the Karachi International Container Terminal
(KICT). In financial year 2015-16, the port handled 50 million tons of
cargo comprising 15 million tons of liquid and 35 million tons of dry cargo,
registering a growth of over 15% compared to the previous year, and closing at
nearly 2 million TEUs. 1893 ships berthed at the port in 2015-2016 compared to
1732 in 2014-2015.
Port Qasim is Pakistan's second busiest port and currently caters for
more than 40% of seaborne trade requirements of Pakistan. The port is
accessible through a 45 km long channel marked by channel buoys up to 11-meter
draught vessels. It has excellent multi-modal connections with rail/road
network and in future, when the Coal Terminal becomes operational, it would be
the port of call for ships laden with coal cargo.
Gwadar port is set to be at "full operation" by
the end of 2016, and will handle roughly one million tonnes of cargo going
through it by 2017, most of which will
consist of construction materials for other CPEC projects. Gwadar is projected as
the heart of CPEC and the Chinese management company plans to expand the port's capacity to 400 million tons of cargo
per year. Long terms plans for Gwadar Port envisages upto 100 berths to be
built as and when demand increases. Under CPEC, Gwadar Port will expand its infrastructure
with construction of nine new multipurpose berths on 3.2 kilometers of seafront
to the east of the existing multipurpose berths. There will also be cargo terminals in
the 12 kilometers of land to the north and northwest of the site along the
shoreline.
Reputable German companies, such as
Liebherr or SANY, are globally recognized as specializing in the development
and manufacturing of high tech port equipment. According to its website, Liebherr
supplies a wide range of high-quality maritime cranes for all types of goods
handling in ports and at sea. The products include ship-to-store container
cranes, rubber-tired and rail-mounted gantry cranes, straddle carriers, mobile
harbor cranes, reach stackers, ship cranes, floating cranes and offshore
cranes. In fact, one mobile crane is
already installed at Karachi Port by a private cargo handling company. It is
estimated that the country realizes a saving of $8-10 per ton if this crane is
utilized. SANY informs on its website that they are assembling the Reach Stacker range and
producing Empty Container Handlers and Heavy Duty Forklifts. It currently
offers the best paint quality in the industry and its paint shop is equipped
with the latest technology and guarantees the highest painting standards by
applying four layers of coat to the machines. An intensive marketing and
orientation campaign must be initiated by these companies for the introduction
of their equipment at all three Pakistani ports.
PAUS is a company that specializes in mining equipment. It
makes a Telescopic Swivel Loader that can transform the antiquated mode of
mining prevalent in Pakistan. The road accessibility to most of the mines is a
harrowing experience and requires movement of smaller vehicles for loading the
minerals, thus adding to the cost. This Loader has multiple functions including
an articulated steering that makes maneuverability easy even at restricted road conditions. For
coal miners, there is a higher risk of explosion in
mines due to the development of gas. PAUS vehicles are therefore also available
with explosion protection. PAUS dinting machines
cut tension relief slots into the roof, to minimize bed convergence, tunnel
construction, and to improve gallery safety and impact resistance. Liebherr
specializes in equipment for extraction of minerals in opencast mining
environment and its hydraulic excavators are internationally known for their
performance and productivity.
Pakistan has less than 400,000 mini trucks, light trucks,
medium, heavy, as well as super heavy trucks including loaders, dumpers, and
trailers. As per conventional wisdom, taking into account the flow of cargo and
commodities traffic as well as the obsolete and unserviceable vehicles, there
is a shortage of between 90,000-100,000 vehicles at this moment. The world's
top two truck manufacturers are Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz, both highly
recognized German brands. Number four is Volkswagen Group that markets under
the brand names Volkswagen, MAN, and Scania. German investors and even these
brands could set up trucking joint ventures to cater to the increased cargo
traffic.
The reason for mentioning these various German companies is
to demonstrate the huge potential available for enhancing German presence in
Pakistan. Germany is a valuable bilateral trade partner and it is imperative
that Germany must and should participate in Pakistan's progressive economic
future. Moreover, the biggest
reason for Pakistan’s immense geo-strategic importance is quite simple: its
people. Pakistan has one of the largest, youngest, and most rapidly growing
populations in the world.
The dividend for both countries could be summarized in a PEST analysis.
As the largest economy in European Union, Germany can play a prominent and
defining role in impressing upon Pakistan the political imperatives to maintain the democratic environment in
order to obtain maximum support in continuation of the GSP Plus status. Germany
can, and does, offer economic
assistance through substantial financial credit at low markup rates for
procurement of German products, especially machinery and equipment. Germany is
already a major supporter of social projects
through Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to institute pragmatic reforms in
skill development of workers, in formulation of world class curricula, in
health, in family planning, and in basic education sectors. At the same time,
Germany is assisting in transfer of technology
through vocational training, through imparting and providing access to
technological innovations and ideas via various mechanisms, and through programs
where experts provide knowledge-based information at seminars and orientation
events. In March 2016, Germany
agreed to provide €125.70 million comprising of grant of
€98.7 million and soft loan of €27 million in various sectors including health,
energy, and technical and vocational training.
I want to conclude
this write-up on a personal note that is a manifestation of German excellence
in quality, technology, and reliability. It was in 1956 when my family became
owners of our first Mercedes-Benz. We used to live in Mithadar, the old section
of Karachi, with its narrow lanes, with the hustle-bustle of pedestrians
walking on these lanes, with donkey and camel carts obstructing traffic, and
with cyclists moving in all directions. We were the only ones in the neighborhood
to have a car, what to talk about Mercedes-Benz.
What can one say
about Mercedes-Benz? When one is a small kid, it is just another car, albeit
bigger than the previous one. When one is a teenager, it is an ego trip. When
one enters adult life, it is royalty without a realm. This is what Mercedes-Benz
really means to people like me.
There has been,
except for a gap of few years, a Mercedes-Benz in our garage. It was my
grandfather's prime choice of a vehicle. It was my father's desire to own one.
And, it continues to be our precious asset to possess this car. Notwithstanding
the importance of owning a Mercedes-Benz, the fact is that it also creates a
favorable impression when we escort our foreign guests on their visits to
Pakistan and to our businesses.
As I complete my 66
years and enter a new phase in my life, I have now few objectives to attain and
few targets to meet. One of these is to present a Mercedes-Benz to my spouse.
Why? Well in the early 1970s, when I returned after studies in USA, I gave
driving lessons to my then fiancée in our Mercedes-Benz. How many Pakistanis do
you know who would even dare to take this risk? But then, the lady was going to
be my wife, and for her, everything should be the premier grade.
I have many
memorable moments of our various models of Mercedes-Benz. All I can say is that
not only Mercedes-Benz is in a class by itself, it is the ideal car in so many
respects. This fact . . . only the owners of Mercedes-Benz can recognize and
appreciate. As the famous American singer said, "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a
Mercedes Benz." Need I say more?
