Minister for Petroleum Division Omar Ayub Khan on Friday visited KPT Oil Pier-1 (OP-1) facility along with his team, comprising Secretary Petroleum Division Mian Asad Hayaud Din and Special Advisor to Prime Minister (SAPM) Nadeem Babar for reviewing the liquid bulk handling capacity of Karachi Port. Chairman KPT Rear Admiral (R) Jamil Akhtar HI (M) T.Bt, along with senior officials of the port welcomed the Petroleum Division delegation at Karachi Port. The Minister and his team visited KPT with a purpose to seek firsthand knowledge about the exact capacity and capability of the port for handling petroleum products. The Chairman KPT informed the minister and his team about the three oil piers of the port that collectively can handle 25 million tonnes liquid bulk cargo. He informed further Omar Ayub that port also manages additional liquid bulk cargo operations at its berths number 1, 2 and 24 to further facilitate port customers. During the visit, Omar Ayub and Nadeem Babar took keen interest in the existing facilities of Karachi Port and enquired about complaints arriving from various companies which result in heavy demurrage payments on account of delays. The Chairman KPT clarified about the slow discharging rates by ships on account of less space at OMCs facilities due to either connectivity issues or due to storage problems faced by respective import companies in the oil installation area. He informed further that with a good discharge rate, ships can turnaround from port within a day. The Petroleum Division delegation also visited the KPT Head Office for a formal briefing on Karachi Port operations with a special focus on liquid bulk cargo handling of the port. The Chairman KPT briefed the Minister for Petroleum Division that KPT handled 9.8 million tonnes cargo in last financial year and that the momentum set in current financial year depicts 10 percent increase in handling of liquid bulk cargo.
