Sialkot Dry Port Trust (SDPT) was the first dry port in Asia to be set up in the private sector. Fifty-two exporters and businessmen of Sialkot founded it in 1984, each putting in a personal, non-returnable contribution, so that the region’s exporters and importers could clear customs at their own doorstep instead of in Karachi.
The port began operating in 1985 with the support of Pakistan Customs and allied departments, and was formally inaugurated in 1986. Its site at Sambrial, close to Sialkot International Airport, is almost equidistant from Sialkot, Gujranwala, Wazirabad, Daska and Gujrat, so it serves the industries of all five cities.
SDPT today
The late Seth Muhammad Iqbal, founder chairman, together with the trustees, exporters, importers, management and staff, built SDPT into one of the most trusted names in Pakistan’s export logistics. More than forty years on, the Trust is still owned by the business community it serves, and it handles the whole journey from the factory gate to the port:
- Customs clearance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with Pakistan Customs examining goods on site.
- Online declarations through Pakistan Customs’ WeBOC system — including the LCL module for part-container sea cargo — and regulatory approvals through the Pakistan Single Window.
- Bonded warehousing for export and import cargo, with crane and reach-stacker handling for containers.
- A fleet of more than 100 customs-bonded vehicles, sealed, insured and tracked by GPS on every journey.
- Terminal offices at Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad that hand cargo over to shipping lines and airlines.
- Online services for exporters and clearing agents: bills, a charges calculator, vehicle tracking and complaints with a tracking number.
A gateway to Central Asia
In February 2025 the dry port became a TIR hub, set up by NLC together with the Sialkot business community. Exporters can now send sealed containers by road to Central Asia and Russia, with no change of truck or reloading at the borders, insured and tracked all the way.
Vision
To give every exporter and importer of the region the quickest, safest and most economical route between their factory and the world’s markets.
Mission
- Bring customs clearance to the doorstep of the region’s exporters and importers.
- Move their bonded cargo safely, quickly and economically to Pakistan’s sea and air ports, and across borders.
- Keep improving the service through digital clearance, live tracking and clear, published tariffs.
Recognition
- Award of Excellence — voted the most efficient dry port in Pakistan by freight forwarders nationwide, presented on behalf of the Ministry of Ports and Shipping by the Chairman of Port Qasim Authority.
- Environmental Management System — certified by WWF Green Office Pakistan in November 2013.