A Catalyst for the Economy of Pakistan and Sindh
By Shamshad Ali Chandio
It is very fortunate that Sindh government has shown keen interest in the redevelopment of Keti Bandar to link Pakistan and Sindh province with international trade routes. It was further expressed that the Keti Bandar Port Project will not only be connected with Dhabeji Special Economic Zone and Thar Coal resources but it will also pave the way for economic growth and development through a new maritime gateway to the world.
The upgrading of Keti Bandar Port Project is a golden opportunity for the people of Pakistan and Sindh. In fact, this project will quickly change the lifestyle and poor economic conditions of a great deal of the population of the country including coastal areas of Sindh. In addition to unlocking the new chances of jobs and infrastructure development, it will also turn out to be a game-changer for Pakistan and Sindh. As a result, the modernization of Keti Bandar Port will emerge as a strong glow of light in a deep, dark night for the poverty-stricken people of the coastal areas.
As far as the strategic and geographical importance of the Keti Bandar Port is concerned, it is a historical port town consists of 771 kilometers situated along the Indus delta. Unluckily, there have been submerged 114000 acres of land due to rising sea level.
If we look at the past history, after the downfall of Shah bander in 1819, Keti Bandar Port had been built. It remained an international hub to boost trade with Madras, Mumbai, Balochistan and Persian Gulf. But, Keti Bandar Port had slowly and gradually started to decline and lost it glory due to land erosion and heavy flood storms in 1945 and 1999.
Just as former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had taken concerted efforts for the modernization of Keti Bandar Port, so too did Benazir Bhutto aimed at the revival and redevelopment of Keti Bandar Port. But now, carrying forward the legacy of former prime ministers, chairman people’s party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has reiterated his commitment to the redevelopment of Keti Bandar Port to enhance the connectivity of Pakistan and Sindh with global markets.
In Fact, the Keti Bandar Port exist alongside Indus river delta which is fifth the largest delta of the world. Indus River Delta is spread across 16000 square kilometers in the main three districts of Sindh including Thatta , Badin and Sujawal. Along with the overall erosion of the land 3.5 to 4.5 acres in Indus river delta, nearly 2.2 million acres of land has been submerged in thatta and badin districts. While Karachi district has a 90 KM coastline, nearly 270 Km of coastline is covered by Thatta, Badin and Sujawal districts.
If we compare the Navigational depth of Keti Bandar Port with Port Qasim and Gwadar Port. Port Qasim has approximate 11 to 13 meters, while Gwadar port has about 13. 8 to 14.5 meters. By the way, Keti Bandar Port could potentially have a depth of 14 to 18 or even 20, but exact depth can be measured through hydrographic and engineering studies. Although the Keti Bandar Port can become the fourth-largest port in the world after Tanger Port in Morocco, it can accommodate large Container ships, very large Crude Carriers, LNG, largest Commercial vessels and other large Cargo subject to proper dredging and Maintenance.
Either the Keti Bandar Port Project can be upgraded through Public Sector model, which requires feasibility study, master planning and phased PSDP/ADP through multilateral financing, strict monitoring and control, or through Public Private partnership Model, in which government will look at land, policy and approvals, while private investors will provide Capital, technology and operation through BOT, BOOT, JV or concession structures. However, Sindh government has already expressed interest to revamp project on PPP model. Moreover, Sindh Government has applied PPP model in various other projects, of which Shahrah-e-Bhutto is the best example.
As long as Keti Bandar Port is reconstructed and joined to the global trade routes, it will unlock numerous opportunities for the people of Pakistan and Sindh. It will be too easy to transport the Thar coal to the Keti Bandar Port without any delay. There are approximately 175 billion tons of ignite coal reserves, which are perceived as equivalent to combined oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Besides generating 10 million Megawatts of electricity for coming 200 or 300 years, Thar coal can be utilized for fertilizer production as well.
It continues that the upgrading of Keti Bandar Port will also create an opportunity to construct a coastal highway and rail link which can connect Karachi with Keti Bandar Port, passing from Tharparker and reaching Cholistan region of Punjab. In fact, the technical expertise such as coastal- resilient infrastructure engineering, pile-supported viaducts, marine bridges, causeway systems and geo-synthetic -reinforced embankments can be applied especially in seawater lakes, creeks and Indus delta. Moreover, there may be put into the practice technical expertise of the terrain adaptive highway and railways engineering to connect the hilly area of Tharparker and Cholistan. Really, these road Link will reduce heavy traffic pressure on M-6 and will facilitate transport to Keti Bandar Port, as well as helping to prevent sea erosion and promote solar, tidal energy parks and tourism development in coastal areas of Sindh.
As a matter of fact, the redevelopment of Keti Bandar Port will pave the way for a chance to generate more than 50 thousands Megawatts solar power from Tharparker and Cholistan desert. For instance; India has planned to produce 90 thousands Megawatts solar energy from Rajasthan, whereas China has aimed at creating 15 thousands solar power from Gobi and Taklamakan desserts. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia has also begun work to generate 26 thousands Megawatts solar energy from Al- Shuaiba desert. Both the Cholistan and Tharparker desert have potential to generate electricity from solar power, like other countries of the world.
As soon as Keti Bandar is revived, Pakistan and Sindh has a great opportunity to generate Tidal energy from overall coastal areas of Sindh. In actuality, China has planned to generate 50 thousands Megawatts tidal energy from Jiangsu Coast and UK has created 30 thousands Megawatts tidal energy from North Sea Coast. Further, Denmark had intended to produce 80 thousands Megawatts of tidal energy from North Sea Coast. Therefore, Sindh coastal areas possess a vast potential to produce Tidal energy after the revitalization of Keti Bandar Port.
As well as linking Pakistan and Sindh province with international trade routes, the modernization of Keti Bandar Port will open avenues for coastal tourism. The coastal tourism can include resorts, villas, marinas, recreational parks, water sports, beach huts, boating facility and eco-tourism. Indeed, Global states earn billions of dollars from coastal tourism. In particular, Spain earns 200 billion Euro per year, Greece earns 22 billion Euro per year and Maldives earns 4-6 billion dollars annually. In the same way, Pakistan has potential in coastal areas of Sindh to improve its tourism industry. With regard to short, medium and long- term strategy, Pakistan can earn $1–3 billion, $5–10 and $15–25 billion respectively from coastal tourism upgrading.
As for the development of coastal Sindh into a livestock export hub after the revival of Keti Bandar Port, it has significant potential to earn $ 5 to 10 billion annually through modern processing, cold storage and meat export. If we take examples of Australia earns $25-30 billions, New Zealand earns $ 15- 20 billions, Brazil $ 15-10 billion annually and Netherlands earns more than 10 billion annually from developed livestock economy.
It is beyond doubt that Keti Bandar Port shows the best potential to compete the major Coastal economies of the world like Maldives, UAE, China, Australia, New Zeeland, Singapore and others.
As a result of the modernization of Keti Bandar Port, Pakistan and province of Sindh will be connected with international trade markets. It will also create new opportunities for investment in various sectors of economy including, livestock, Tourism, Fishing, Thar coal, solar energy and tidal energy, in addition to agriculture and Industry. If we compare with developed economies around the world, many countries rely on these fields for economic growth. Furthermore, this is a golden opportunity for Pakistan, Sindh and especially people living in coastal areas. Indeed, the upgrading of Keti Bandar Port can bring significant benefits to the whole of Sindh, including Thatta, Badin, Tharparker, Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad and other regions of province as well as Pakistan. No doubt, it will create new opportunities for trade, employment and infrastructures development. If Keti Bandar Port is restored, it can promote prosperity, better living standards, employment opportunities, socio-economic progress, poverty alleviation and infrastructure development in the province and Pakistan.
Read: Keti Bandar: Reshaping Coastal Futures
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Shamshad Ali Chandio Civil Servant and Project Management Research Fellow.
