Pakistan International Bulk Terminal

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Pakistan International Bulk Terminal is a coal and cement terminal at Port Qasim in Karachi, Pakistan.

The port is sponsored by Marine Group of Companies and operated by Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Limited.

Location

Port Qasim is located adjacent to the Bin Qasim town, in the southern part of Malir district, Karachi division, in Sindh. It is situated in an old channel of the Indus River at a distance of 35 kilometers east of Karachi city center.

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Background

The terminal was planned to have the capacity to handle up to 12 million tonnes of coal and 4 million tonnes of cement & clinker per year, which together could be further enhanced up to 20 million tonnes per year.

In February 2015, Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Limited (PIBT) decided to increase the capacity of its under-construction coal terminal to 16 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). The expansion would require an additional investment of US$70 million, bringing the total cost of the coal terminal to US$255 million – 55% of which would be financed by banks.

The terminal was expected to be completed by mid-2016, but appeared pushed back.

The country handled its first coal cargo at the terminal in May 2017. Capacity was reported to be 12 mtpa.

Karachi Port

In June 2018, Pakistan’s Supreme Court banned the unloading of thermal coal at Pakistan's Karachi Port, saying the coal terminal violated local health and safety regulations. As a result of the ruling, all coal imports into Pakistan were to be routed to the Pakistan International Bulk Terminal, about 40 kilometres from the Karachi city centre. It was estimated it costs up to US$10 more per tonne to handle coal imported via Port Qasim than in Karachi.

Expansion

In September 2021, the Pakistan International Bulk Terminal's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Arslan Iftikhar announced that the terminal was set to expand coal handling capacity from 12 million tonne to 16 million tonnes. The expansion was estimated to cost around US$70 million.

Iftikhar stated “The terminal can discharge a 60,000 tonne coal vessel in less than two days of operations.” He added imported coal was previously handled manually at the stevedoring berths at the Karachi Port Trust, which took 8 to 10 days/ship, and did not comply with environmental laws or approval of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency.

The same month, Global Cement reported on plans to expand the terminal's coal capacity by 40%, or up to 17 million tonnes per year, with the installation of a second conveyor belt. The expanded terminal would open in late 2023 or early 2024. Cement producers had previously called for an expansion of the country’s coal import infrastructure. In July 2021, the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) lobbied the government to permit coal discharge at the 10,000t/day Karachi Port Trust port.

However, in their corporate briefing session report in Dec 2023 for the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the current coal handling capacity was still 12 mtpa, without information on the coal capacity expansion. The expansion project was presumably shelved according to the tracker's methodology.

Financing

The first phase of the terminal was estimated to cost US$305 million. Pakistan International Bulk Terminal (PIBT) is financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) & the OPEC Fund for International Development, along with a syndicate of local Pakistani commercial & conventional banks. PIBT is sponsored by the Marine Group of Companies. PIBT was the second port infrastructure project to be listed at Karachi Stock Exchange.

PIBT entered into a Built Operate Transfer (BOT) contract with Port Qasim Authority (PQA) to construct, develop, operate, and manage the coal and clinker/cement terminal at Port Muhammad Bin Qasim for thirty years. At the end of the contract, it plans to transfer all concession assets to PQA.

Proposed coal plants near the port

According to a June 2014 article in Business Recorder, Asiapak Investments (J Energy Pvt Ltd Pakistan) and Dongfang Electric Corporation signed a Memorandum of Agreement to build the 1,320-megawatt (MW) Bin Qasim Dongfang power station comprising six 220 MW units at Bin Qasim, Karachi. The project aimed for commercial operation in the first quarter of 2018. Asiapak was also partnering with international companies to establish coal import and handling infrastructure at Port Qasim with 10 million tonnes per annum throughput capacity.

There have been a number of coal plants proposed in the Port Qasim area that would import coal through the port, including:

• Port Qasim EPC power station - (began operating in 2017-2018),
• Port Qasim Lucky power station - (coal unit under development as of September 2021),
• Jamshoro power station - (coal units under development as of September 2021),
• Siddiqsons power station - (relocated from Port Qasim to Thar Block-II to curtail transportation costs in 2017),
• Port Qasim Burj power station - (appears cancelled),
• Port Qasim Burj power station - (appears cancelled),
• Bin Qasim Dongfang power station - (appears cancelled or replaced),
• Port Qasim SSRL power station - (appears cancelled),
• Bin Qasim power station - (conversion from fuel oil to coal cancelled).

Project Details

• Sponsor: Marine Group of Companies
• Location: Bin Qasim town, Malir district, Karachi division, Sindh
• Coal Capacity: 12 million tonnes
• Proposed Capacity:4-5 million tonnes
• Status: Operating (Proposed expansion in 2023-2024).
• In Service: 2017
• Type: Imports
• Source of Coal: Indonesia, South Africa
• Cost: US$305 million (Operating); US$70 million (Expansion)
• Financing: International Finance Corporation (IFC), OPEC Fund for International Development, and others

Articles and Resources

Related GEM.wiki articles

• Global use and production of coal
• Coal exports
• Coal terminals
• Coal reserves

External resources

• International Energy Agency, "Coal in Pakistan in 2006," International Energy Agency website, accessed August 2009.
• U.S. Geological Survey, "The Mineral Industry of Pakistan," reports 1994-2007.
• Chin S. Kuo, "The Mineral Industry of Pakistan: 2007," U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, April 2009.

External Articles

• "Thar coal reserves can turn around Pakistani fortunes," Steel Guru, 2009.
• "Sindh: UAE, Korea to set up 1,000 MW coal power plant," Pakistan Realog, July 22, 2009
• "Thar Coal Project," Industry & Economy, undated, accessed May 2010.