According to Shipping Industry sources, Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT) will become Karachi Gateway Terminal Limited (KGTL) following the change of hands at Karachi Port tomorrow. The AD Ports Group and Karachi Port Trust are holding a landmark ceremony marking the signing of a 50-year concession agreement with Karachi Port Trust (KPT).

Under the terms of the concession agreement, a Joint Venture – Karachi Gateway Terminal Limited (KGTL), will handle a container terminal at Karachi Port’s east wharf. This agreement falls under AD Ports Group’s strategy to invest in critical maritime trade routes for the UAE and to replicate Abu Dhabi’s successful growth prospects. The agreement could boost the UAE- Pakistan bilateral relations and the Pakistan economy and strengthen trade ties with key trading nations, leading to increased economic growth and prosperity.

Recall here that the Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions recently endorsed the decision of the Maritime Affairs Ministry to hand over the container terminal to the Karachi Port Trust (KPT). Officials told the media that the KPT was supposed to take charge of the terminal after the expiry of a 21-year-old contract with the Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT) on June 17, 2023.

The terminal is a modern container terminal with a depth of 13.5 meters, situated at Berths 6 – 9, East Wharf, Karachi Port, Karachi.