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28 March 2024

DP World opens inland container terminal in Lahore

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By Staff

Global marine terminal operator DP World has added new muscle to its operations in Pakistan with the official opening of its state-of-the-art Inland Container Terminal (ICT) in Lahore, the country’s second largest city.

DP World Lahore, also known as the Prem Nagar Dry Port, was inaugurated by Shahid Hussain Raza, Chairman, Pakistan’s Ministry of Railways, at a ceremony attended by top government officials and representatives of DP World.

DP World Lahore, the first Public Private Partnership (PPP) project by the Ministry of Railways, is well positioned to serve Pakistan’s largest hinterland market – the Lahore-Sahiwal region – and is directly linked by rail to Qasim International Container Terminal (QICT), a premier gateway port managed and operated by DP World Karachi more than 1,000 km away.

The ICT’s inauguration closely follows the opening of Terminal 2 in Port Qasim on January 12, which expanded QICT’s capacity from 900,000 TEU (twenty foot equivalent container units) to around 1.2 million TEU, part of DP World’s three-phase development plans in Pakistan and the largest ever investment in the port sector there.

The ICT facility is built on over 40 hectares of land and is connected by an extensive network of railway lines and roads to some of the country’s most populous areas. The terminal will be managed and operated by DP World in a joint venture with Premier Mercantile Services (PMS), one of Pakistan’s largest maritime terminal operators.

Designed and developed to international standards, DP World Lahore offers the local trading community a 25,000 sq ft fully-equipped Container Freight Station (CFS) and will also provide local haulage services beyond the gate to the customers’ doorstep.

Mohammed Sharaf, Chief Executive Officer, DP World, said: “DP World Lahore is another example of our commitment to Pakistan’s development, following the recent successful expansion of our terminal facilities at Port Qasim. Our investments here are in direct response to the growth we have been experiencing in the region. We thank the Government of Pakistan for collaborating with DP World to create their first PPP project involving the railways. We believe the local community will benefit immensely from this partnership.”

Changez Niazi, Chief Executive Officer, DP World Karachi, said: “A railway is a very cost efficient and reliable mode of transporting containers across a large country like Pakistan. DP World Lahore will change the dynamics of the domestic supply chain sector by enhancing logistical efficiencies for the trading fraternity and delivering considerable savings in cost and time.”