Special Report
ISLAMABAD:
Hutchison Ports Pakistan, the operator of the deep-water container terminal in Karachi, has been slapped with a massive penalty of $ 2 million by the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) for not complying with the terms of the agreement.
According to sources, the Hutchison Ports Pakistan is desperately trying to evade the penalty allegedly in collusion with Karachi Port Trust (KPT) officials, but this latest incident is just the tip of iceberg.
Hutchison Ports Pakistan was to pay $ 21.6 million worth royalty to KPT in accordance with agreement but the Hutchison Ports Pakistan paid only $19.6 million and due to this the KPT has slapped $ 2 million penalty on Hutchison Ports Pakistan, they added
Earlier, another company of Hutchison Ports Pakistan, the Karachi International Container Terminal, was allegedly found to have caused billions of rupees loss to the national exchequer and is currently under investigation by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), said sources.
As per the sources, in the corruption scandal, KPT management and others are implicated for illegal allotment of land to Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT), causing a staggering financial dent of Rs 22 billion to the national exchequer. Hutchison Ports Pakistan has a history of attempting to cause loss to the country’s economy, and this latest penalty is a stark reminder of their disregard for the terms of the agreement and their blatant attempts to evade financial obligation, said sources.
An official of KPT on condition not to be named confirmed that the KPT slapped $2 million penalty on Hutchison Ports Pakistan and informed that Hutchison Ports Pakistan has obtained a stay order from the court.
Available document revealed that Sohail Muzaffar, Chairman, Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) filed a complaint with NAB and alleged that illegal allotment of additional Berths and other areas totalling to 10,000) square meter in 2005 through an execution of amendment agreement at lower rate of royalty charges without public bidding. Similarly, TIP chairman complained that extension of time period of initial contract (1996) from 21 years to 34 years i-e 2017 to 2029 without the approval of federal government. Likewise, illegal approval of land measuring 24,126 Sqm without increasing the royalty payments through Board resolution 494 of 2005 in lieu of KESC plot (for which an alternate area was already handed over to KICT in 2005). Second amendment in the agreement is going to be executed in 2014 in lieu of BR. 494 of 2005. Moreover, non-payment of additional royalty to KPT which caused loss to national exchequer to the tune of Rs 1.5 billion.
The complaint was registered at Complaint Registration Cell NAB at PRCS Building Dawood Pota Road, Karachi and case was authorized to Zameer Ahmed Abbasi for inquiry on 12-03-2015 through authorization letter No. 231061-Khi/1/IW-2/CO-A/T-1/NAB Karachi/2015/315 which was upgraded into investigation and authorization to him on 4th November 2015 through letter No. 231104-Khi/1/IW-2/CO-A/NAB(K)/2015/2412. Thereafter investigation was authorized. Later on, it was recommended to file reference against accused person under section (u/s) 18 (g) r/w 24(a) and permission for arrest was solicited as per law by the Umesh Kumar Malani, Investigation Officer, NAB Karachi. And, the Executive Board Meeting of NAB under the then NAB chairman Justice (Retd) Javed Iqbal, accorded approval of filing a reference (NAB Reference 3/2021) in Accountability Court -IV, Karachi against various personalities included Ahmed Hayat, former chairman, Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Syed Jamshed Zaidi, former General Manager KPT, Khurram S Abbas, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Karachi International Container Terminal and others for illegally allotting state land which caused Rs 21 billion losses to the national exchequer.
