ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the authorities concerned to acquire ships on lease to enhance the fleet of Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC), state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
He made these directives while chairing a meeting in Islamabad to review matters related to the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.
The premier said a valuable foreign exchange of four billion dollars is being spent annually from the national treasury on trade through the sea route due to a shortage of ships in PNSC fleet.
He also instructed to present PNSC business plan within two weeks that includes a roadmap to end the burden of four billion dollars annually on the national exchequer.
The Prime Minister was also briefed about the performance of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.
It was informed that the PNSC has ten ships of various types in its fleet, which have the capacity to handle 724,643 tons of cargo.
The meeting was also attended by Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Maritime Affairs Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, and senior officials of Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.
