National Logistics Cell takes charge of Sost Dry Port, Hunza
Sost: National Logistics Cell (NLC), which is an organization affiliated with the Pakistan Army, has taken control of Gilgit-Baltistan’s only dry port, located in Sost town of Gojal Valley, Hunza.
Established with the support of China, the dry port was most recently under control of a government officer. The interests of shareholders is represented by a trust which includes local landowners, who had donated their land for establishment of the dry port as a private limited company.
With management of the party going to NLC, the Pak-China Sost Port Company stands dissolved.
Under the new arrangement, NLC has obtained lease of the port for 20 years, said a port official. He also said that the rent of the port will be determined by the trade volume, and 20% of the gross profit will be given to the Silk Route Dry Port Trust of shareholders. He also said that all operational costs of the port will exclusively be borne by NLC.
Earlier, the port was controlled by Chinese shareholders, who were evicted from the management by a regional court, after a controversy, which saw exchange of brawls between members of the trust and the Chinese management.
Also read:
Gojal: Protests erupt after Zafar Iqbal, Chairman Port Trust is “attacked by Chinese official” in Sost
The Pak-China border opened on first April for trade and tourism, after remaining closed for four months.
The Sost Dry Port is important because it located in Sost, which is the first town of Pakistan, located within a hundred miles of the Pak-China border. Its importance has further increased due to the expected spike in trade as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) arrangement.
