PICT
Container Terminal
Pakistan International Container Terminal ran Karachi Port's East Wharf berths for 21 years before its concession ended in 2023. If you're still searching for it, here's what happened and where to go instead.
About PICT
Pakistan International Container Terminal was founded in June 2002 as a joint venture between Premier Mercantile Services and the Port of Hamburg, and listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange the following year. It operated four berths — 6 through 9 — on Karachi Port’s East Wharf under a 21-year build-operate-transfer concession with Karachi Port Trust, running a 600-metre quay wall with a design depth of around 13.5 metres and handling up to roughly 750,000 TEU per year at its peak.
ICTSI Mauritius Limited, part of the International Container Terminal Services group, acquired a 35% majority stake in March 2012 and remained the controlling shareholder through the remainder of the concession. That concession ended on 17 June 2023, and the same East Wharf berths were transferred to Karachi Gateway Terminal Limited — a new joint venture between AD Ports Group and Kaheel Terminals — five days later, under a fresh 50-year agreement.
This page exists because “PICT” still appears constantly in older shipping documentation, freight quotes, and search queries, even though the company no longer operates the terminal. The physical location has not moved and has not closed — only the operator has changed.
If you’re looking for PICT
The berths are still operating — as KGTL. Nothing about berths 6 through 9 on Karachi Port’s East Wharf has physically changed. What changed on 22 June 2023 was the operating company. For current gate procedures, tracking, depth and capacity information, go to the KGTL page rather than treating this as a closed facility with nothing to say about it.
Older documentation naming PICT is not wrong, just dated. If a freight quote, booking confirmation or customs filing from before mid-2023 names PICT, it correctly describes the terminal as it was then — you don’t need to correct historical paperwork, but any new booking should reference KGTL.
The transition was a concession change, not a closure. PICT’s 21-year build-operate-transfer agreement with Karachi Port Trust simply reached its contractual end. This is a normal, planned event in how Pakistani port terminals are run — long concessions expire and are re-tendered — rather than a sign of operational trouble at the facility itself.
Maalbardaar’s customs clearance and freight forwarding services continue uninterrupted at this location — our WeBOC and Pakistan Single Window filing covers cargo discharged here under its current KGTL operation exactly as it did under PICT.
Clearing and forwarding cargo through PICT
Customs clearance
Our licensed clearing agents file your Goods Declaration through WeBOC and Pakistan Single Window for cargo moving through PICT, with HS code classification handled up front to reduce assessment delays and demurrage risk.
Customs clearance services arrow_forwardFreight forwarding
Whether your shipment is arriving by sea or air, we coordinate the booking, inland pickup and CFS/CY delivery so cargo destined for PICT lands where it needs to be — and moves on schedule once it clears.
Freight forwarding services arrow_forwardPICT questions
Is PICT still operating?
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Not as an independent terminal operator. Its 21-year build-operate-transfer concession with Karachi Port Trust ended on 17 June 2023, and the same East Wharf berths were handed to Karachi Gateway Terminal Limited (KGTL) five days later, on 22 June 2023, under a new 50-year concession.
Who used to operate PICT?
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It was founded in June 2002 by Premier Mercantile Services in partnership with the Port of Hamburg, and listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange in 2003. ICTSI Mauritius Limited acquired a 35% majority stake in March 2012 and remained the controlling shareholder through the concession's final years.
If my documentation names PICT, where does my cargo actually go?
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To the same physical location — berths 6 through 9 on Karachi Port's East Wharf — now operated as KGTL. The terminal itself did not close or move; only the operating company changed. See the KGTL page for current operating details, tracking, and depth.
How large was PICT at its peak?
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Around 750,000 TEU of annual design capacity, with actual throughput reaching a similar figure in peak years — on a 600-metre quay wall across four berths with a design depth of roughly 13.5 metres.
Does Maalbardaar still clear customs for cargo at these berths?
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Yes — the physical location continues to operate, now as KGTL, and our licensed clearing agents file Goods Declarations through WeBOC and Pakistan Single Window for cargo discharged there regardless of which operator's name appears on older paperwork.
Shipping through PICT?
Get a quote for customs clearance and freight forwarding through this facility, handled by a licensed local team.
Shipping through somewhere other than PICT?
Operators
Maalbardaar provides customs clearance and freight forwarding services for cargo moving through PICT. We are not the operator or authority of this facility, and this page is independent, informational content rather than an official listing. Facility data sources: Wikipedia's PICT entry, cross-checked against reporting on the 2023 concession transition and AD Ports Group's own press material on taking over the East Wharf berths. Founded June 2002 by Premier Mercantile Services and a Port of Hamburg joint venture; ICTSI Mauritius Limited acquired a 35% majority stake in March 2012; the 21-year build-operate-transfer concession with Karachi Port Trust ran from 18 June 2002 to 17 June 2023.