Sialko­t dry port handle­s 75 per cent of export­s from the city. Sialkot dry port handles 75 per cent of exports from the city.

SIALKOT: 

Dispelling widespread perception among businesspeople, the Sialkot Dry Port Trust chairman says that dry ports are not a source of smuggling rather they provide great help in increasing exports of the country.

“It is just a perception that dry ports are involved in smuggling whereas the reality is entirely different,” said Sialkot Dry Port Trust Chairman Muhammad Ishaque Butt in an interview with The Express Tribune at his office.

“The belief was so strong that at one time the government was going to shut down all dry ports of the country,” he recalled, but said a turnaround came when General Pervez Musharraf visited the Sialkot dry port and stopped all efforts to lock the dry ports.

Supporting his claim, Butt said about 98 per cent of commercial imports came through the country’s seaports and only two per cent import cargo was handled by dry ports. Even 2 per cent was doubtful and the figure may be even below this level.

“The fact that only two per cent of total imports come through dry ports is enough to dispel the perception that dry ports are facilitating smuggling, otherwise this percentage would have been 10 or 15 per cent,” he stressed.

The Sialkot Dry Port, established in 1985 by exporters of the city, was the first private-sector dry port in Pakistan as well as Asia, a new concept for the private sector at that time. Today, there are seven private-sector dry ports operating in the country.

With an aim to provide customs clearance services to importers and exporters of the region at their doorsteps, the dry port today has a fleet of 100 customs bonded vehicles, the largest for any private-sector dry port in the country.

Butt, who is also a former president of the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the dry port had immensely helped improve exports from Sialkot and other industrial cities of the region.

“This dry port has helped the triangle of Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gujrat because of its central location for the three cities. With the dry port’s efforts, exports from Gujranwala grew to more than $700 million while the other industrial hub, Gujrat, is following suit,” he added.

According to export figures of 2011, Sialkot was leading the triangle with $1.35 billion of exports, of which the dry port handled around 75 per cent.

Sialkot and other regional cities could increase their exports phenomenally, if the government improved infrastructure, he said, adding some taxes were also impeding exports from the region.

“Each of our vehicles pay Rs7,300 in taxes on every return trip to the Karachi Port which is an extra burden on exports from these cities. In addition to this, Sindh has imposed some infrastructure taxes on vehicles that we think are unjust,” he added.

According to the dry port trust, its vehicles pay Rs10 million in such taxes every year.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2012.