KARACHI: Pakistan Railways (PR) is making hectic efforts to lure the private sector investment to address its idle capacity and under utility, said General Manager Railways, Ashfaque Khattak.
Talking to APP on Thursday after a seminar organised in collaboration with Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF), Khattak said that the main purpose was to boost the public-private partnership.
He said the Railways was suffering a financial deficit of Rs26 billion, however, it could be overcome with better marketing and attracting the private sector investment, particularly, in freight business.
He said that the PR has introduced an Open Access Policy for the private sector to invest in freight or passenger train business and added that the Government of Punjab was making efforts to attract foreign investment for its various inter-city stations.
"We have an assurance to the private investors that this is not a short term but a long term and protective investment policy which will not be affected by any change in government policy," he pointed out while responding to various questions of the media.
He said all leakages of whatsoever nature in the Railways was being plucked with due care and already a number of investigations were underway against various grade officers.
Earlier, in his address and presentation to the private sector representatives, he said that as policy formed by the government, the Railways was also changing its policy from public sector to business sector entity to overcome its losses in collaboration with the private sector.
"It is worst time for the Railways but there is big potential to invest in this sector," he maintained.
He said that PR has presently a work force of 85,000 in various cadres, 500 locomotives, 1772 passenger coaches, and 17,573 freight wagons operating all over the country, with 559 stations.
Speaking on the occasion, the CEO of Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF), Adil Anwar, said that PR has surplus capacity on its infrastructure which can be utilized by the private sector for operations of freight trains carrying oil, container cargo, rock phosphate, coal, cement and general cargo to predetermined destinations for there was significant market demand.
Comments
Comments are closed.