Pakistan logistics and transport: problems and solutions.

AuthorAbid, Sabiha

Byline: Sabiha Abid

Transport and Logistics is not restricted to physical infrastructure usage of rails, roads and transport, sea trade and related freight, but it also includes packaging, delivery, storage facility and trade logistics. Moreover, insurance, renewal costs, high freight, longer delivery times also add up to costs. Opportunity cost, service standards and trade facilitation play pivotal, crucial and detrimental role in defining efficacy of transport and logistics.

For sustainable development of Pakistan we need robust and cost effective Transport and Logistics Sector. Export also depends on this very important sector. Though we are undergoing economic slowdown but transport and logistics has shown positive trends. In 2018 the inland traffic by road and rail was estimated 433 billion passengers kilometer (BP-Km) and 269 billion tonnes-km(BT-Km)respectively and it is likely to increase to 614 BP-Km and 381 BT-Km. The sector was providing jobs to 3 million people and the same is expected to rise more than ever. The sector is getting 25-30% share of the annual public sector program (PSDP) but concerted efforts are required to promote public-private partnership for leveraging higher investments from the private sector.

Pakistan has ranking of 142 (out of 160 countries) in World Bank's Logistics Performance Index(LPI). This standing is because of poor performance in custom clearance, tracking, tracing and time lines through our country. Pakistan is also experiencing the same political, industrial and financial difficulties as are faced by Bangladesh, India and Nepal. There is no long term government plan to develop logistic value chain as a means to climb out of the economic black hole Pakistan is trapped in.

Logistic industry is contributing globally $4.3 trillion, contributing 8-10% to the GDP, creating thousands of new jobs and improving export competitiveness substantially. The nations with top twenty LPI are among the 10 strongest economies of the world. When we have deteriorating Balance of Payments and languishing exports instead of believing in traditional exports (agriculture, textile and medical equipment to name a few), there is a dire requirement to move to the modern manufactured innovative goods exports to earn more foreign exchange. The need is to eradicate supply chain inefficiencies in bringing products, raw materials and finished goods to market for making Pakistan's exports more competitive. If quality and linkages...

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