Pakistan: A US$130m contract for the construction of Pakistan's first dirty cargo terminal, Pakistan International Bulk Terminal (PIBT), at Port Qasim has been awarded to China Harbour Works.
The total cost of the PIBT will be US$250m, which will include the cost of equipment. In the first phase the terminal will have the capacity to handle 12Mt/yr of imported coal, 5Mt/yr of cement and 2Mt/yr of clinker. In the second phase the PIBT will expand its capacity of imported coal to 20Mt/yr to meet the growing energy demand of the country.
China Harbour Works will start civil work on the terminal within a month and complete it within two years. Coal imports to Pakistan are expected to grow given that most of the new power plants under construction are coal based and many old plants are also being converted to use coal.