On Thursday, the government formed a five-member committee to negotiate commercial terms with the United Arab Emirates for outsourcing the bulk and general cargo terminal, as well as associated infrastructure, at Karachi Port’s east wharf to a UAE-based port operator via government-to-government negotiations, with no bidding for competition or price discovery.
The decision was made at a Cabinet Committee on Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions meeting presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
The price negotiation committee, led by Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Faisal Subzwari and comprised of the chairman of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and three general managers, will begin negotiations with the Abu Dhabi Ports (ADP) on Friday (today) in an attempt to sign an agreement and complete the transaction before the government’s term ends in about 10 days.
The conference was informed that on July 24, the cabinet transactions committee accepted the Framework Agreement Committee’s recommendations and the subsequent G2G draught Framework Agreement for federal cabinet confirmation. The decision was later accepted by the cabinet, and the deal was then electronically signed by officials from the governments of Pakistan and the UAE.
The price negotiation committee, led by Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Faisal Subzwari and comprised of the chairman of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and three general managers, will begin negotiations with the Abu Dhabi Ports (ADP) on Friday (today) in an attempt to sign an agreement and complete the transaction before the government’s term ends in about 10 days.
The conference was informed that on July 24, the cabinet transactions committee accepted the Framework Agreement Committee’s recommendations and the subsequent G2G draught Framework Agreement for federal cabinet confirmation. The decision was later accepted by the cabinet, and the deal was then electronically signed by officials from the governments of Pakistan and the UAE.
Thus, the cabinet transactions committee approved the price discovery mechanism suggested by the KPT and formed Mr Subzwari-led panel.
