By Qudsia Bano

India’s move towards its first blue-bond issuance has brought maritime-focused capital-market financing into sharper regional focus, with Pakistan already having the policy architecture to raise funds through blue bonds or blue sukuk for sustainable fisheries, cleaner ports, coastal protection and other eligible maritime projects.

India’s state-owned Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited is preparing an issue of up to ₹10 billion, with the proposed sale tentatively expected in the last week of September. On August 27, the lender invited an independent external reviewer to provide a second-party opinion on its Blue Bond Framework, following earlier processes covering credit ratings, a debenture trustee and other services linked to the planned issuance.

For Pakistan, the significance lies in the financing structure rather than in bilateral economic ties with India, as normal trade relations between the two countries remain suspended. The comparison is about how maritime economies can connect sustainable ocean-related projects with long-term capital-market financing.

India has been developing a specialised maritime-finance system around that objective. Sagarmala Finance was restructured in June 2025 as India’s first maritime-focused non-bank financial company and approved around ₹4,300 crore in loan sanctions in December 2025.

Alongside the proposed blue bond, India has established a ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund, comprising a ₹20,000 crore Maritime Investment Fund and a ₹5,000 crore Interest Incentivisation Fund aimed at lowering financing costs for shipyards.

Pakistan, meanwhile, already has a sovereign policy foundation for blue financing.

Under the Sustainable Financing Framework 2025, the federal government can issue Blue Financing Instruments whose proceeds are dedicated to eligible blue expenditures. The framework states that green, blue, social and sustainability instruments may include bonds, sukuk, loans and other forms of financing.

This gives a potential Pakistani blue bond — or Shariah-compliant blue sukuk — an existing policy foundation.

Eligible activities include certified sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, fishing-industry traceability systems, measures against overfishing and destructive practices, protection of aquatic biodiversity, and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems.

The framework also covers maritime transport projects that improve the environmental performance and sustainability of ports, vessels or related infrastructure, provided they are not dedicated to transporting or storing fossil fuels. Sustainable water and wastewater systems, renewable-powered desalination, mangrove restoration and coastal infrastructure adapted to erosion and sea-level rise are also covered.

The financing requirement behind Pakistan’s maritime ambitions is sizeable.

The Annual Plan 2025-26 places the country’s 1,046-kilometre coastline and 290,000-square-kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone at the centre of its blue-economy strategy. It identifies maritime transport, fisheries, coastal tourism, ship recycling, renewable energy and desalination as key areas and sets a long-term objective of increasing the sector’s contribution to $100 billion by 2047.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb also raised the possibility of blue-market financing at the Pakistan International Maritime Expo and Conference in November 2025. He said the maritime sector was contributing only around 0.4-0.5% of GDP, or approximately $1 billion, and specifically mentioned blue bonds and blended financing as options for supporting sustainable development and conservation.

Pakistan’s maritime sector also has substantial economic activity from which environmentally eligible investments could potentially be developed.

Fish and seafood exports reached a record $568 million in FY2025-26, according to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.

The Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26 recorded combined cargo handling of 78.452 million tonnes at Karachi Port, Port Qasim and Gwadar during July-March FY2026. Karachi Port handled 42.03 million tonnes, while Port Qasim recorded an 8% increase in cargo throughput.

Another potential area is ship recycling. Work has begun on a Rs12 billion upgrade of the Gadani shipbreaking yard, including hazardous and industrial waste-treatment facilities, water-treatment systems, solar infrastructure and improved safety arrangements.

However, maritime activity does not automatically qualify for blue financing. Projects must meet environmental eligibility requirements and demonstrate transparent use of proceeds and measurable outcomes.

Muhammad Talha, Assistant Director at Karachi Port Trust, said structural constraints continued to prevent Pakistan from fully exploiting its maritime potential. He has advocated investment in shipping, commercial shipyards, ferry services and digital maritime infrastructure.

He also cautioned against treating blue-economy potential as existing economic output, saying ambitious projections would depend on reforms and effective implementation.

“Raising a bond would be only one part of the process; the value of the instrument would ultimately depend on the governance, bankability and environmental integrity of the projects behind it,” Talha stressed.

Pakistan nevertheless has recent evidence of investor appetite for labelled sustainable government debt. Its first sovereign Green Sukuk, issued in May 2025, received bids worth Rs161.74 billion against a Rs30 billion target. Around Rs31.99 billion was eventually accepted, with demand equivalent to about 5.4 times the target.

The government’s Debt Policy Statement 2026 subsequently confirmed that the sovereign Sustainable Financing Framework provides a structure for raising funds for green, blue, social and broader sustainable-development projects.

India’s proposed blue bond therefore provides a regional example of how specialised maritime projects can be connected with capital-market funding.

Pakistan has already defined what blue financing can cover. The next challenge is to develop a pipeline of bankable and verifiable projects in sustainable fisheries, cleaner ports, marine conservation, coastal resilience and environmentally improved maritime transport.

Such a pipeline could pave the way for a blue bond or blue sukuk to complement public development spending and conventional borrowing, helping mobilise additional capital for Pakistan’s long-term blue-economy ambitions.

Credit: INP-WealthPk