ISLAMABD (March 02 2007): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Thursday termed National Trade Corridor (NTC) a major strategic initiative to improve the logistics chain throughout the country and said it would inter-link the country with all three adjoining regions of South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia.
The Prime Minister was chairing a high-level meeting at the Prime Minister House to review the pace of progress to the National Trade Corridor (NTC). Prime Minister Aziz said an efficient logistics chain comprising roads, railways, ports and airports was a critical element to reduce the cost of business, improve competitiveness and enhance productivity of goods in the country.
The NTC is an initiative of the Prime Minister to improve logistics by changing processes, improving infrastructure and providing seamless co-ordination between all stakeholders i.e. public and private sectors.
Shaukat said National Trade Corridor (NTC) would link Pakistan's major ports in the south with its major cities and trade routes to the north.
He said the ports, roads and railways along this corridor handle 95 percent of internal trade and 65 percent of our total land freight. The modernisation of this corridor will require an investment of one billion dollar per year over a period of next four to five years, he added.
The PM pointed out that infrastructure development was important not only for business activity but also for human development and poverty reduction. He said this corridor would facilitate the development of rural roads and agricultural markets and provision of electricity, gas and clean drinking water in villages and towns besides expanding health and educational facilities.
The Prime Minister said to speed tip the process of infrastructure development, the government had adopted a Public-Private Partnership model whereby the government and the private sector work together for implementation of projects requiring significant capital investments.
Emphasising the need to change the mindset, the Prime Minister said that strengthening of infrastructure and improving processes are equally important to improve the logistic chain. He also stressed the need or improvement in inter-ministerial co-ordination to achieve maximum results from the improved logistics chain.
Shaukat said it was heartening that significant progress was being made in developing the National Trade Corridor as the benefits of efficient and seamless movement of goods will directly go to the people.
He however, pointed out that all stakeholders including Civil Aviation Authority, National Highway Authority and Pakistan Railways to constantly benchmark their performance against global standards as it will provide critical feedback to judge the quality of the improvement in the logistics chain.
Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2007