Dry ports play an important role to grab cargo business for the mainstream. Thousands of tons of cargo get in and out of the country through these ports and generate a big industrial cycle and revolve the economy of the country. A dry port is an intermodal terminal that is connected by a road or rail to a seaport and operates as a centre of transhipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. Just like seaports, dry ports also have the ability to deal with the bulk of cargo with great ease and comfort.
Dry ports help in the transportation of goods and shipments to every nook and corner of the country. These ports generate employment opportunities for thousands of workforce, youth, and labourers besides alleviating poverty and accelerating the pace of economic development in the province. In addition, well-developed dry ports have international importance for harmonisation and facilitation of inter-modal transport.
In Pakistan, there is a list of dry ports that promote trade in the country. Currently, there a twelve customs dry ports in Pakistan that are located in Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, Gilgit-Baltistan, Peshawar, Lahore, Multan, Kasur and Sialkot. The basic function of these ports is handling, storage and regulatory inspection of goods moving in international trade and the execution of applicable customs control and formalities. Additional functions of these ports include receipt and dispatch, consolidation and distribution, warehousing and transhipment.
Considering the importance of dry ports, the former government inaugurated Azakhel dry port last year to facilitate Pak-Afghan trade and trade with Central Asian Republics (CARs). This dry port is located in Nowshera’s district town Azakhel and is also linked with the 1st phase of CPEC which can make the respective area a trade hub.
Furthermore, the current government has also inaugurated a dry port complex in Mirpur that is being built on a more than 110-kanals plot with an estimated cost of Rs815.8 million. This dry port had been in the demand of domestic and foreign importers, industrialists and traders for the past three decades. However, after its completion, the dry port will become an industrial hub of the city and a home to hundreds of thousands of UK-based expatriates.
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