Saudi business delegation tours Karachi Port, eyes maritime investment

A Saudi business delegation led by Prince Mansour bin Mohammed Al Saud, chairman of the Saudi-Pakistani Joint Business Council, toured the Karachi Port Trust head office and the South Asia Pakistan Terminals (SAPTL-HPH) on 9 November, telling KPT it was interested in the port's development projects, maritime investment, green-port measures and terminal expansion.

KPT chairman Rear Admiral Shahid Ahmed (retired) received the delegation along with federal secretary for maritime affairs Capt Muhammad Khurram Agha (retired) and Gwadar Port Authority chairman Noorul Haq Baloch, according to KPT. Prince Mansour and the maritime secretary jointly chaired the meeting that followed.

The KPT chairman briefed the visitors on the port's modernisation, what the trust described as record performance in the 2025-26 fiscal year, growth in transshipment and the projects under way.

The investment opportunities put before the Saudis centred on a proposed 140-acre Maritime Business District and the development of Manora shipyard. The delegation was also briefed on the M-10 port link, the KPT-Pipri freight corridor, the ML-1 railway connection and the East-West Wharves connectivity bridge.

In its statement, KPT said Prince Mansour showed keen interest in the maritime business district, the green-port measures, terminal infrastructure expansion and the connectivity projects, and described them as openings for Saudi capital and for partnerships between companies in the two countries.

The delegation later visited SAPTL, where it was briefed on the terminal's operational capacity, its infrastructure and its cargo-handling facilities.

KPT spokesman Shariq Farooqi told Independent Urdu that no memorandum of understanding was signed during the visit. He said the delegation had shown serious interest in the port's development projects and the investment opportunities on offer.

Aslam Pakhali, senior vice president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told the same outlet that Saudi investment in energy, textiles and port infrastructure could raise Pakistan's exports and trade. Pakistani agricultural goods and other products can reach Oman in two days and be moved on to other Gulf markets from there, he said.

Pakhali said regional tensions had brought more transshipment to Karachi, with some ships unable to reach their destinations unloading containers at the port, and that volumes at times ran beyond its present capacity. Pakistan should plan now so that the traffic stays once the fighting ends and Karachi becomes a regional transshipment and logistics centre, he said.

Express News reported that KPT presented the port's progress towards becoming a fifth-generation port, and carried Prince Mansour's interest in the green-port, terminal expansion and connectivity projects in terms close to KPT's own statement.