PM pledges world class logistic chain to foreign investors
Bureau Report

KARACHI—Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday vowed to develop a world class logistic chain in the country to cater to the needs of the growing economy. “We must go for the world class logistic chain to meet the requirement of fast growing trade and a projected economic growth of 6 to 8 percent in the coming years”, he said while inaugurating the oil pier II at Karachi Port.
The prime minister said the plan which the government has, involves total refurbishing, restructuring, enhancement and modernization of rail, roads, sea and air infrastructure in Pakistan”. Sindh Governor Dr Eshratul Ibad Khan, Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Mohammad Yousuf, federal ministers Babar Khan Ghauri, Jahangir Tareen, Shamim Ahmed Siddiqui, Syed Safwanullah, provincial ministers, diplomats and civil and armed forces officials were present on the occasion.
“The government has to plan an infrastructure which will give world class logistic chain and that is what we are trying to do. The trajectory which we see for economic growth in Pakistan is looking very exciting”, he observed. Referring the development of ports, the prime minister said that a deep water terminal was coming up at Karachi Port, various projects for Port Qasim and the new port was fast nearing completion at Gwadar. “To make the ports efficient out sourcing, privatization, corporatization will be a way of life. We have to meet the standards of world class operations at our ports”, he noted.
Talking of air infrastructure development projects, he said the government was improving airports in the country and some major world airlines were coming to Karachi and other cities of Pakistan soon. Referring to non-availability of seats for air passengers coming in or going out, Shaukat Aziz said it was unacceptable. This capacity has to increase either by PIA or foreign airlines, he opined.
He said that more hotels were needed to cater to the growing number of foreign visitors in the country and invited private sector to invest in this sector. The government will provide all possible support, he assured.
The prime Minister said that new Islamabad airport will be built by two world’s leading companies and added that being a capital the city deserved a better airport. Referring to improvement of railways, he pointed out that the government has a major refurbishing programme of the track, the engines, the coaches to provide a fast cargo service from Karachi up north and back.
“We have started a fast cargo train which is doing very well and private sector is encouraged to look into this opportunity”, he added. Shaukat Aziz pointed out the government was planning a highway network between Karachi and up north to cut travel time. This network was nearing completion between Peshawar and Faisalabad and will further move to Multan. From Multan it will come to Sukkur and then to Karachi, he added. This will improve travel time for people and goods.
Terming the inauguration of oil pier II as another milestone in KPT’s history, he said that this was his fifth visit to KPT in the last 18 months to perform either ground breaking or inauguration of projects. He appreciated the atmosphere of growth in KPT and hoped that every entity in the government should be as vibrant as Karachi Port. Credit goes to the minister, the chairman and his team who have created an environment of growth and action, the prime minister said.
He noted that Pakistan’s economy has moved a long distance in the last six years. “We have reformed, we have transformed, we have grown and we have restructured our country and the economy. But we have much more to do. This is just the beginning of a long journey”, he added. “Despite the oil shock, we have weathered the price hike without a blink of the eye and the people of Pakistan have weathered this and moving ahead on path of growth and development”, he noted. Talking of a five-year vision of growth, the prime minister said that it will get Pakistan 5 to 8 percent growth going forward. “We have achieved this in the last two years and we hope to achieve this in the next three years.