Pakistan courts US with pitch for new Arabian Sea port ( at Pasni for critical minerals export)

https://www.ft.com/content/9f7c7bf2-76ed-4eb6-bb9a-f628d05b0068

Late last month, Pakistan shipped a modest first consignment of fewer than two tonnes of critical and rare earth minerals to USSM that included copper, antimony and neodymium. The price of antimony has soared since Beijing imposed a ban on selling it to the US late last year.

Advisers to Pakistan’s military strongman Asim Munir have approached US officials with an offer to build and run a port on the Arabian Sea that could give Washington a foothold in one of the world’s most sensitive regions. The audacious plan, seen by the Financial Times, envisages American investors developing the seaside fishing town of Pasni as a terminal for access to Pakistan’s critical minerals. Pasni is just 100 miles from Iran and 70 miles from the Pakistani city of Gwadar, which has a China-backed port. The initiative, which is not official policy, reflects how Pakistani officials are exploring ways to capitalise on the sweeping geopolitical upheaval in South Asia of recent months.

The offer has been floated with some US officials, and was shared with Munir ahead of a meeting with Donald Trump in the White House late last month, according to two civilian advisers to the army chief who both asked not to be named. But a senior Trump administration official said the US president and his advisers had not discussed such a proposal.

The scheme is one of several ideas floated publicly and privately by Pakistani officials to maintain momentum with the Trump administration. They include engagement with a Trump-backed crypto venture, deepening co-operation against Afghanistan-based militant group Isis-K, endorsement of his Gaza peace plan and access to critical minerals.

Munir and Trump have forged what US and Pakistani diplomats are referring to as “a bromance” since the American president claimed credit in May for a ceasefire that ended the worst fighting between Pakistan and India in decades.

After two decades of warming ties with India, the US has over the summer publicly sparred with New Delhi. While India has rejected Trump’s claims of involvement in the ceasefire, Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have publicly thanked him and nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In return, Trump has lavished praise on Pakistan’s army chief. After their latest meeting last month, the White House released pictures of Munir and Sharif presenting the US leader with a display case of mineral samples.

“The whole narrative [of the US-Pakistan] relationship changed after the war,” said one of the advisers, who has been involved in back-channel contacts with the Trump circle for more than a year.

“It was very bad before then. We had not tended the relationship as we should have,” the adviser said. “In the last two decades the Indians occupied the space in the vacuum.”

The proposed port at Pasni would be linked to a new railway to transport minerals from Pakistan’s interior, the advisers said, in particular copper and antimony, a vital ingredient in batteries, fire-retardant and missiles.

A blueprint anticipated the port would cost up to $1.2bn with a proposed financing model that would be a mix of Pakistani federal and US-backed development finance. Advocates of the plan see it as a way of hedging the country’s position on the global stage as it seeks to balance a constellation of diplomatic ties with China, the US, Iran and Saudi Arabia, with which Islamabad signed a security pact last month.

“Pasni’s proximity to Iran and Central Asia enhances US options for trade and security . . . Engagement at Pasni would counterbalance Gwadar . . . and expand US influence in the Arabian Sea and Central Asia,” according to the blueprint.

“China’s Gwadar investments under the Belt and Road Initiative raise dual-use concerns,” it added, in an apparent allusion to US concerns Gwadar could serve as a Chinese naval base, a suggestion denied by Islamabad and Beijing.

Pakistan government approves new Gwadar shipyard project - Maritime Gateway

https://www.maritimegateway.com/pakistan-government-approves-new-gw...

Under the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the government has approved the “New Gwadar Shipyard Mega Project” and activated the Project Management Cell (PMC). It aims at utilising all available resources for laying down fresh foundation of all-inclusive development of Gwadar Port under CPEC phase II. Having allocated Rs 200 million for the formation of PMC, relevant appointments will be sought to run entire affairs as per prescribed SOPs. The ‘New Modern Shipyard’ in Gwadar will incentivize commercial shipbuilding and repair industry, create new jobs and spur economic growth, according to Gwadar Port Authority.

Since land disagreement issue is all set to be resolved relevant TORs, tenders will be floated seeking international companies to participate. GPA had demarcated 750 acres of land for the new shipyard project. Apart from offering essential dry-docking facilities to the cargo ships visiting Gwadar Port, the Gwadar Shipyard would also offer services for building new ships.

The project expected to be started this year, and employment opportunities will be provided to experts and workers from Balochistan on the project on priority. Gwadar Shipyard Mega Project would be equipped with the latest technology, and this international standard project could give Pakistan a prominent place among the world-class shipyards.

Pakistan $100 billion maritime plan


https://www.arabnews.com/node/2621610/pakistan

KARACHI: Pakistan is implementing a $100 billion maritime development plan aimed at expanding its national shipping fleet, building new ship repair and recycling facilities, overhauling fisheries and upgrading maritime education, Maritime Affairs Minister Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said on Thursday.

Pakistan has a 1,046-km coastline along a major global trade route, but its maritime economy has remained underdeveloped for decades, with limited commercial fleet capacity, outdated port infrastructure and declining seafood exports. Successive governments have identified the blue economy as a potential driver of growth, energy security and climate resilience, but investment and execution have lagged.

“Under the Prime Minister’s guidance, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs is implementing the ‘Maritime @100’ vision, a $100 billion blue economy plan by 2047,” Chaudhry said at the closing ceremony of the flagship Pakistan International Maritime Exhibition and Conference (PIMEC) in Karachi.

“The sea is our next frontier for trade, prosperity, energy, food and climate resilience,” he said. “Pakistan’s future lies in the sea.”

As part of the plan, Pakistan’s first Green Ship Repair and Recycling Yard will be established at Port Qasim, one of the country’s main commercial ports near Karachi that already hosts major steel and industrial facilities. The project will be developed as part of an integrated “Sea to Steel Maritime Industrial Complex” designed to support the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills, the state-owned steelmaker that has remained largely non-operational for years.

Chaudhry said the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) fleet has increased from 10 to 12 ships, with three more expected within two months. Tenders for 12 additional vessels are underway, with the fleet targeted to reach 30 ships by 2026 and 60 within three years.

He said Pakistan had also granted its first private ferry operator license, opening sea routes for passenger movement and coastal trade.

On Gaddani, one of the world’s largest ship-breaking yards long criticized for unsafe conditions and environmental pollution, the minister said a Rs12 billion ($43 million) modernization program is underway to meet Hong Kong Convention safety and environmental standards, shifting toward cleaner and more regulated recycling capacity.

Chaudhry said the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy 2025–2035 has been finalized, targeting a doubling of seafood exports within one year through upgraded cold-chain logistics, traceability certification and deep-sea fishing capacity.

A Maritime Education Endowment Fund has also been created, and the Pakistan Marine Academy will be upgraded into a Maritime University to train seafarers, marine engineers, technologists and ocean science specialists.

The minister said the government’s century-long maritime strategy, termed “Maritime Century (2047–2147),” envisions developing new deep-sea ports, AI-enabled shipbuilding and recycling complexes, “Made-in-Pakistan” vessels and 100 percent green and digital ports with multimodal connectivity.

By 2047, Pakistan aimed to emerge as a global blue economy hub driving sustainable growth across the North Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, the minister concluded.