KARACHI : Pasban Democratic Party PDP Chairman Altaf Shakoor here Sunday demanded that more creek ports should be developed in the delta area of the River Indus to boost trade and commerce.
He said the River Indus had 17 major creeks and the port Qasim is developed on one of its creeks. However, more ports, especially small ports could be developed from Karachi to Keti Bunder to give trade, commerce and transportation a huge boost. He said in the past Kotri was a major river port of Sindh and Keti Bunder is also a major port site, but a neglected one. He said it is an old demand of the trade and industrial circles that Karachi-Hyderabad and Karachi-Keti Bunder industrial corridors should be established to end poverty and joblessness in Sindh, as well as, to boost economy and industry.
He asked that the SIFC should work on setting up a creek ports development authority to tape this neglected source of economy. He said in the past the River Indus was a major trade route, but after building of dams the river trade gradually decreased. However, the river and creek ports still have a lot of potential to spur the economy, communication as well as tourism.
Altaf Shakoor said that the upgrading of transportation – road, rail, river and sea – is directly linked to developing the economy and reducing poverty. He said the government should give maximum focus towards this sector to improve the lot of the poor masses. He said resource mobilization should be the cornerstone of the government policies to ensure maximum job creation.
He said Karachi and Indus delta area hold a great importance and with developing new creek and river ports as well as fishing jetties we can change the socioeconomic canvas of this region. However, it needs that our rulers should change their priorities and allocate resources for pro-poor projects instead using budget to facilitate the elite class.
