In a statement on Saturday, the minister said the proposed project was aimed at developing, financing and operating a modern seafood processing and value addition complex under KoFHA, positioning the harbour as a regional hub for sustainable, technology-driven seafood processing linked to high-value international markets.
He said the initiative would be a bridge between medium-scale seafood processors and value-added plants, and global buyers by providing modern infrastructure, certification standards and efficient export logistics. The project reflects the government’s intent to move away from raw seafood exports towards higher-value processed products.
The minister noted that the project would cover 100 acres of dedicated seafood processing and export infrastructure at the Korangi Fisheries Harbour in Karachi. He said the estimated project cost would range between $60 million and $80 million, based on regional and global benchmarks from countries such as Vietnam, China and Ecuador, which have developed similar seafood parks.
He said the planned facilities would include multi-tenant seafood processing units, large-scale cold storage and packaging facilities, logistics and export terminals and a wastewater treatment plant to ensure environmentally compliant operations. The zone will be used exclusively for commercial seafood processing, packaging, cold storage and export-oriented activities.
The maritime minister said the project was proposed under a public-private partnership or build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession model, under which private investors would develop, operate and maintain the processing zone, while KoFHA would keep regulatory oversight and provide facilitation.
Elaborating on the development components, he said the zone would host between 20 and 25 medium to large-scale seafood processing units designed for fish and shrimp processing, value addition and export-grade packaging. The units will support a wide range of products from primary processing to ready-for-market seafood items.
He said the project would include a cold storage and blast freezing complex with multi-temperature storage ranging from minus 18 to minus 40 degrees Celsius, allowing safe handling of fresh, processed and unprocessed seafood. Ice plants and flake ice stations with a daily capacity of 50 to 100 tons will support fish landing, processing and transportation needs.
The minister said dedicated value addition and ready-to-eat units would be established for filleting, marinated products, breaded seafood and export-oriented convenience foods, enabling Pakistani exporters to tap premium retail and food service markets abroad.