Minister of Ports and Shipping, Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo conducted a meeting on Tuesday under the supervision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif where discussions were held to finalize the requirement for the certification to launch a ferry service in Pakistan on both domestic and international grounds.

The representatives of foreign affairs, interior, defense and narcotics control along with anti-narcotics and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) attended this meeting. The Secretary of Ports and Shipping Division briefly explained the background notion of the proposal and the requirements for obtaining the license of the ferry service.

Private sectors: the main focus

Mir Hasil Khan conversed that their primary focus would be the private sector since it is the main recipient of this ferry service. The private sector will target mainly towards the tourist coming from all around the world, overseas workers and most importantly businessmen.

In order to attract more investment from the private sectors, the requirements for license have been kept very simple.

In regard to the ferry service, most of the investment would be done by the private sector. However, the control of the ferry service will be under the government of Pakistan.

Charges for domestic and international ferry operators

One of the plus points is that the domestic ferry operators who are registered in Pakistan will be exempted with the port charges. Moreover, they will also be excused from the annual fees until up to 2030. As far as foreign ferry operators are concerned, they will be given 50% off on the port charges up to 2030.

A committee was also formed including the ministries and representatives to conduct an analysis on the license application. In addition, they also submitted their recommendations and suggestions to the DG Ports and Shipping Wing to grant the license.

After a detailed discussion and analysis of the license requirements the meeting came to a final decision. Subsequently, it was resulted in the approval of licensing requirement that was drafted by the Ministry of Ports and Shipping.

Source: Business Recorder