Prime Minister directs PNSC to lease ships to increase fleet

Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed to take ships on lease to increase the fleet of Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC).

A review meeting was held under the chairmanship of Shehbaz Sharif on the affairs of PNSC, in which Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Shipping Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, and top officials of PNSC also participated.

During the briefing, the Prime Minister was briefed on the performance of PNSC and was informed that the organization has ten ships of different types, which have the capacity to carry 724,643 tons of cargo.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed to take ships on lease to increase the fleet of PNSC.

Shehbaz Sharif said that due to the shortage of ships in the PNSC fleet, the national treasury has to spend $4 billion in valuable foreign exchange annually on trade via sea. A business plan for PNSC should be presented within two weeks, which includes a plan of action to eliminate the burden of $4 billion annually from the national treasury.