KARACHI:
Top business leaders have put forward some proposals to find solutions to the problems arising after the sudden implementation of the National Highway Safety Ordinance (NHSO) 2000 axle load regime (ALR).
The ALR, re-implemented on November 12, 2023, affects local trade, exports and imports. They said that the competent authority imposed the ALR and adopted a step that the highways are being violated.
The ALR implemented earlier in 2019 also caused disruptions in the supply chain of all commodities and products including rice, wheat, wheat flour, cereals, animal feed, fertilizers, edible oil, cement, coal, steel, cotton and others.
They said billions of rupees have been spent on highways and highways which cannot afford heavy transport. Immediate implementation of ALR will trigger another wave of inflation.
After the sudden implementation of the new ALR, the additional cost of commodities (fertilizer, edible oilseeds, poultry, fruits, vegetables, sugarcane, refined sugar, rice, wheat, cereals and others) through commercial transport vehicles is estimated at around Rs 263 billion annually . To address the adverse effects on the economy, there is a need for policy making through consensus among relevant industries and sectors for the phased implementation of ALR.
Pakistan needs to significantly scale up exports to meet the government’s commitments, and export promises cannot be fulfilled without reducing transportation costs. In turn, transportation costs cannot be reduced without shipping via cheap waterways. A number of traders, exporters, importers and others who use highways or highways are of the view that road users can pay the maintenance cost of highways constructed with bitumen or pay the cost of constructing another additional lane of RCC (reinforced cement) constructed along motorways as asphalt roads are not suitable for heavy vehicle traffic.
Reading Axle load management
They also urged the government to set up the Water Development Authority to build waterways at less than half the cost of the ML-1 (which can carry a maximum of 30,000 tonnes per day), while cheap waterways can carry 300,000 tonnes or more .
For the rapidly growing transport requirement, new roads will cost many times more than the development of waterways. The Water Development Authority will propose legislation for general rules and regulations as well as management, especially to allow private sector investment (where citizens have already bought waterfront land but cannot proceed as there is no legislation).
“Before the scheme is fully implemented, it should be realized that much more needs to be done to immediately rehabilitate the existing road infrastructure. Motorways and national highways make up no more than 5% of the total national road network, but, above all, they serve 80% of road traffic. At the same time, it begs the question whether the previous and current governments have reviewed and updated the National Trucking Policy 2007 or implemented the National Transport Policy 2017-18 or taken appropriate action under the National Freight and Logistics Policy 2020,” Seatrade said. Muhammad Najib Balagamwalla Group of Companies Chairman.
“Every new minister or secretary has this tendency to bring out dormant files and try to resurrect the files that are deep in the crypts of the bureaucracy. The intent is usually unbiased and legitimate, but the ramifications are rarely visualized or seriously understood. Priorities are skewed, especially when the nation is still dealing with the pressures of a struggling economy,” he said.
While condemning ALR, President of Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and founder of Salt Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (SMAP) Ismail Suttar said that the cost of transporting salt is more than its (salt) value. Competent authorities raise this issue from time to time. The cargo vehicles carry the same load of around 70 tonnes and above, but the police enjoy a party while taking cuts and bribes all the way from the port to the destination in the country or vice versa.
He said ALR should be ignored, if strictly implemented, there will be food shortage as there are not plenty of trucks in the country, estimated at just 350,000 vehicles.
“The implementation of ALR will require a fleet to more than double with around 700,000 goods vehicles immediately, increasing fuel consumption, tire demand, pollution, vehicle traffic, will trigger a new inflationary storm and above all vehicles cannot be imported in overnight and the country will need millions of dollars to buy them. Hence, there is a need for a long-term policy to implement the ALR,” he said.
Leading auto expert and author of “Steering the Pakistani Wheel” Murtaza Mandviwala said regulators need to reframe their view of the auto industry. “Affordable mobility of people and goods is critical to economic growth. Pakistan is left with road transport as the only form of mobility (with poor railways, no waterways, few airports and rare mass transport).
Meanwhile, sharing details of the ALR, business leaders said around 350,000 units of various axle trucks are in circulation across the country, with the majority being tri-axle (10 wheelers) and six axles (22 wheelers).
A trailer used to carry 55 tons to 80 tons of cargo and a big wall truck used to carry 30 tons of goods, but after applying ALR, they lift 40 tons and 17 tons respectively.
Some of the users had to get a stay order from the Sindh High Court for Karachi only as there is no expressway within the port city where trucks can carry 55 tonnes and 30 tonnes but vehicles going uphill they must follow the ALR of 40 tonnes and 17 tonnes respectively.
The author is a staff correspondent
Published in The Express Tribune, April 1St2024.
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