Although understandably running in losses since its inception, it earned a good reputation in such a challenging sector by building ships to required standards for several countries, including the highly discriminating China.
Technically well-equipped in all departments of ship-building and ancillary industries, it was also quite capable of making industrial machinery in a variegated range.
Unfortunately, however, it was mainly because of protracted indifference of changing governments over a long past that its full potential could not be gainfully exploited. Reference, in this regard, may be made, primarily, to the shipping sector falling a prey to the utterly devastating wave of privatisation in the turbulent 1970s.
As it meant a severe blow to private shipping just when it had started coming up, no room was left for activation of shipbuilding in the country. With bleak prospects of making ships for country's mercantile fleet, as had been earlier envisaged, it kept waiting for foreign orders, entailing heavy expenditure, mostly beyond its resources.
Needless to point out, this was largely owed to the state's persisting indifference to supplementing its capabilities through modernisation and overall expansion. However, the only saving grace for KS&EW was left in its capability of turning out machinery for the sugar industry and other items related to the engineering industries.
Again, as such activities could not be promoted because of visible lack of government attention to the needed effort, its growth was bound to be stunted. A highly sophisticated capital intensive industry, which it happens to be is, it was left with virtually nothing for its sustenance, by remaining dependent on casual orders from Karachi Port Trust and, later, by the Port Qasim Authority.
It could certainly get a lease of life from a long awaited comprehensive shipping policy, worthy of the nation's expectations. Whatever little that has been done in that direction over recent years has not proved of much avail either.
This was, probably, why the government constituted a committee in 2003 to make recommendations for revitalising the shipyard and making it commercially viable after evaluating various options. Now that this committee, headed by the Defence Secretary, is stated to have made a presentation on Friday, making a strong recommendation for its privatisation, a way will be seen to have been found not only for its survival but also for its emergence as a really vibrant industry in a foreseeable future.
This should fully explain the Prime Minister's decision in favour of KS&EW's privatisation, in order to help it effectively to contribute to the nation's economy. Notable, as such, should be his directive to the Privatisation Commission to accelerate the process, by hiring a financial adviser and submitting feasibility report within six months.
The exercise, one can rightly hope, will allow the shipyard to expand its activities and to serve as a maintenance hub for ships in the region, while also to play its due role in marine and maritime development of Pakistan.