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Transport:
essential element of infrastructure for
economic growth
By Nizamuddin Laghari
Efficient road
transport network is not only a pre-requisite for rapid socio-economic
development of a nation but is also essential for sustaining economic
cooperation among the nations, particularly in the areas of trade and
commerce.
The road network,
although steadily growing in Pakistan, still remains inadequate in terms
of aggregate facilities and suffers from a number of deficiencies
including the inability to handle high traffic density at many places as
well as poor riding quality.
The main reason for
these deficiencies is insufficient and poor road network and this
ultimately means improving the road network should be the top priority of
the government. Moreover, the system needs new technology because the
sector has been suffering from an old technological base for a long time.
Transport is an
important element of infrastructure services and is essential in
maintaining economic growth and competitiveness. The sector-wise share of
the transport sector in the formulation of GDP is about 10 per cent and it
accounts for 6 per cent of employment generated. Similarly, 16 per cent
share comes in fixed investment. Moreover, about 20 per cent of the Public
Sector Development Programme expenditure is incurred during the fiscal
year 2005-06 on this sector.
Pakistan has a road
network covering 258,340 kilometres including 165,762 km high type roads
and 92,578 km low type roads. The total roads, which were 218,345 km in
1995-96, increased to 258,340 km in 2005-06. During the last fiscal year,
the length of the high type road network increased by 1.8 per cent but the
length of the low type road network declined by 2.9 per cent. Furthermore,
the length of high roads has increased by 40 per cent since 1995-96. The
government claims that remarkable progress has been made for the road
sector under the Khushal Pakistan Programme and wide ranging other
development activities through district governments under the devolution
programme.
The sector consumes
about 35 per cent of total energy annually.
The current road network
accounts for 90 per cent of national passenger traffic and 96 per cent of
freight movement. Over the past ten years, road traffic - both passenger
and freight traffic has grown as fast as the country’s economic growth.
The 9,518 km long National Highway and Motorway network contributes 3.7
per cent of the total road network and carries 90 per cent of Pakistan’s
total traffic.
Road density is
considered an indicator of development and prosperity and comes to number
six among 14 selected countries from the bottom and number ten from the
top with road density of 0.31 km/sq. (figure 1). On the other hand, India
is number six with road density of 1.00km/sq. from top while Japan tops
the list.
The government has
admitted in its Medium Term Development Framework 2005-10 (MTDF) issued by
the Planning Commission that the performance of the transport system has
been poor with high losses from congestion and poor quality roads and a
mismatch between supply and demand.
As for the public
transport system, it is conducted mainly by private individuals or smaller
companies, who perform independently and therefore there is no system of
checks and balances on their performance. Buses can be seen overloaded
with passengers and in pretty bad shape. The total number of buses in
Pakistan was 103,600 during the year 2005-06. However, total means of
public road transport including wagons, buses, motor cabs and auto
rickshaws was 403,500. Details are given in Table 1.
However, there are some
unwarranted issues, which only aggravate the agony of the transport
sector. The ever-increasing fuel prices are adding to the difficulties of
this sector, while taxes on spare parts and other accessories are
constantly on the rise. The crisis in the transport sector could not be
addressed for a long time. The sector is also suffering due to
globalisation and liberalisation policies. The role of the transport mafia
is another problem.
Local and regional road
transport authorities are not even able to bail out common passengers from
the transport mafia. The Regional Transport Authority (RTA) offices have
failed to issue genuine road permits to transporters. Similarly they have
failed to check the regularity and physical fitness of the vehicles.
Common people, patients and students are the main victims of this problem.
Another concern is road
safety. The numbers of people killed in road accidents vary from year to
year. According to data compiled by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, the
number of road accidents occurred in the year of 2000-01 were 20,651; this
number is higher than 9,593 accidents accrued in the year of 2005-06.
Although it shows a downward trend in accidents, it is still on the higher
side (see table-2).
According to a study
conducted by the World Bank, truck speeds in Pakistan are very slow,
ranging between 20 to 25 kph as compared to 80-90 kph in Europe, and the
journey takes three times longer than in Europe. There is a lack of good
quality of road transport services particularly private truck fleet to
meet international standards.
It disturbs the demand
and supply mechanism, fuels higher inflation and puts pressure on price
which is borne by end users. Beside that long portions of the national
highways network need to be repaired.
What makes this an issue
of concern is that even after almost sixty years we could not formulate a
comprehensive transport policy. During the then Nawaz Sharif Government a
transport scheme covering only one side i.e. import of taxies was
introduced. It resulted in new taxies on our roads in mostly urban areas.
Presently there are two
authorities working in developing and revamping the road and transport
sector in Pakistan: National Highway Authority (NHA) and National
Transport Research Centre (NTRC).
The former mainly deals
with road construction and the later is engaged with research work. These
bodies need to get their act together and formulate policies that will
take the country forward.
The government has now
come up with a vision for the transport sector for the establishment of an
efficient and well-integrated system that will facilitate the development
of a competitive economy and poverty reduction, while ensuring safety and
mobility. The strategic thrust is on optimal utilisation of the existing
capacity, improved management and maintenance and operation of various
modes of transport in its Medium Term Development Framework under a new
and first integrated transport policy after lapse of 60 years.
Bad roads mean slower
transportation which means lesser level of economic activities and small
number of job opportunities. At the same time, long waits, high costs, and
low reliability also add pressure. All this require immediate attention to
this sector.
While, it is the
responsibility of the government to ensure efficient operation of
transport services in the country, it does not necessarily mean that the
state should be the sole provider. Both the private and the public sector
need to join hands to ensure better provision of facilities if we want the
country to move forward.
TABLE-1: MOTOR VEHICLES
ON ROAD
Year
Station Wagon Buses
M. Cab
Rickshaws
2000-01
93,800
86,600
79,800
72,400
2001-02
123,700
96,600
96,400
80,800
2002-03
126,400
98,300
104,100
89,000
2003-04
132,400
100,400 112,600
81,000
2004-05
140,500
102,400 120,300
81,300
2005-06
100,800
103,600 122,100
77,000
Source: Economic survey
2005-06
TABLE-2: TRAFFIC
ACCIDENTS IN PAKISTAN
Year
Total number
Person
Person
of accidents
killed
injured
2000-01
10651
5532
13307
2001-02
10033
5248
11922
2002-03
9377
4813
10643
2003-04
10308
5199
12927
2004-05
9896
5112
12401
2005-06
9593
4836
11523
Source: Federal Bureau
of Statistics
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