Karachi: Atif Ikram Sheikh, President FPCCI, hosted a high-profile session on “Inland Water Management and Business Opportunities” was held at the FPCCI Head Office, Federation House, in Karachi.
It is pertinent to note that the session featured a comprehensive presentation by renowned water expert, Commodore Naeem Sarfraz, outlining the strategic, economic and commercial viability of the sector.
Atif Ikram Sheikh stressed that unlocking potential of the inland water transport is in the interest of the economy as the scope is immense; and, highly profitable business opportunities are available in various sectors of inland water transport and management.
Atif Ikram Sheikh highlighted that the entire world is reaping economic benefits from its natural resources. FPCCI is fully committed to promoting water transport and management in Pakistan to make Pakistan globally competitive.
Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh elaborated that strategic inland water routes are an efficient water transport system; and, can be successfully initiated stretching from Attock all the way to Karachi.
Mr. S. M. Tanveer, Patron-in-Chief, UBG, unscored the significance of private sector opportunities as the inland water sector offers boundless aveues for private sector investment and entrepreneurship. He added that logistics and cost efficiency has been a major challenge for Pakistani businesses; and, road transport volume currently stands at a massive 239 billion tons. By shifting to water transport, logistics costs can be reduced by up to 10 times compared to road transport and up to 3 times as compared to railways, he noted.
The keynote speaker and Pakistan’s foremost water expert, Commodore Naeem Sarfraz, informed the session on the operational progress; stating during his detailed presentation, that some East-to-West commercial operations have already commenced and North-to-South operations may be launching soon with the help of stakeholders.
Mr. Saquib Fayyaz Maggo, SVP FPCCI, explained that encouraging investors is what the need of the hour is; and, FPCCI will actively encourage and facilitate its members to invest in the water transport sector. He apprised that inland water transport has already seen regional success; citing regional examples, noting that Bangladesh has already successfully adopted and benefited from inland water transport.
Mr. Abdul Mohamin Khan, VP & Regional Chairman FPCCI, Sindh, said that inland water transport can offer economic relief as the overall cost of doing business in Pakistan can be significantly minimized by transitioning to water transport.
Mian Zahid Hussain, Chairman FPCCI Policy Advisory Board (FPCCI-PAB), maintained that rising freight costs is a major detriment as the cost of transporting goods via road in Pakistan has alarmingly reached up to Rs. 11 kg – making the development of alternative transport infrastructure a critical necessity for economic survival.
