Pak to seek more Chinese help for Gwadar port

KARACHI: Pakistan will seek increased Chinese involvement in the operation of a strategic port run by Singapore's state-owned PSA International Ltd , government officials said on Thursday.

The officials' comments echoed a news report published on the eve of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Pakistan on Friday, in which Prime Minister Yusuf Gilani hinted at greater Chinese involvement in the Gwadar port.

"We will discuss with China the mechanism to make the Gwadar port operational during the visit of the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao," The News quoted Gilani as saying.

The chief minister of Balochistan is already seeking the cancellation of the contract with PSA on the grounds that it is a "one-sided" deal, and the case is pending in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

"We cannot take a decision at the moment because the matter is before the Supreme Court and we have to wait for the court's decision," a senior official in the Ministry of Ports and Shipping told Reuters. "But obviously, China is a good and obvious choice.

"If the court orders (the contract) scrapped, then we have to find another firm to run the port. We cannot waste time."

Another senior official in the foreign ministry said, "Obviously, they (China) are a close friend and they have expertise and interest so they would be a better choice if the contract ends."

China invested $200 million in the first phase of the port's construction, which was inaugurated in 2007 when management and operational control was given to PSA for 40 years.

A PSA spokesman declined to comment on the reports.