The Ministry of Communication has sought the help of Central Board of Revenue (CBR) for providing concession in taxes and duties on import of multi-axle heavy loading vehicles.
The Ministry's prime objective is to modernised trucks fleet under National Trade Corridor (NTC) to minimise the traffic load on highways and motorways across the country.
Sources told Business Recorder on Tuesday that modernisation of trucking industry would help enhance the level of service available to national trade.
The plan would also help reducing overall costs to economy, resulting from overloading, environmental externalities and fuel inefficiencies.
The government has planned to accelerate the development of highways, and the share of transport sector in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) would have to be enhanced. This adjustment would be possible within the overall resource envelope of Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF).
The Ministry by 2007 seeks truck import tariffs to be further rationalised to enhance the share of tractor and trailers in the transport fleet and simultaneously encouraging local manufacturing of vehicles of upgraded specifications.
In this regard, the truck drivers training facility would be provided with the help of private sector, National Logistic Cell (NLC) and associations of road users.
The Ministry, in the past, had recommended to the government for modernising truck fleet to minimise traffic load on highways.
The government plan is to save travelling time by 50 percent, which would also help in saving of fuel by 25 percent, both for cargo and commuters. This would also help the national exchequer to save $1.25 billion in the shape of fuel savings annually.
The NTC would help in achieving the targets set for improving trade logistics to international standards through provision of efficient, high speed, safe and rehabilitated corridor for road traffic to and from the seaports in the southern part of the country.
The government is interested in TIR (Transport Internationale Routiers) implementation to increase its market size with the help of Islamic Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Pakistan which is presently performing the role of facilitator and National Guaranteeing Organisation for the stakeholders in the regional trucking industry in the country to implement the TIR Convention in Pakistan.
The purpose of initiating the TIR Commission is specifically to create the relevant representation of those organisations in the transport sector who need the TIR trucking carnets for facilitating their regional transport movements.
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