Federal Minister for Water and Power Syed Naveed Qamar has agreed to set up Inland Water Transport Authority (IWTA) and has directed formulation of draft legislation for approval from the Council of Common Interest (CII). He took this decision while presiding over a meeting to discuss setting up of IWTA, here on Monday.
Qamar said that Almost 96 percent of Pakistan's freight was carried by road while less than four percent by railways and in order to reduce fuel expenditures, there was a need of promoting water transport in the country. The meeting also approved pilot project on Indus River and issued directives to Wapda and Pakistan Navy for conducting survey and preparing navigation chart in this regard.
It was decided that the Authority would work under the Ministry of Water and Power, while initially a Cell would be established comprising officials from Wapda and Navy. Earlier, Naeem Sarfaraz, Chairman of Task Force on Maritime Industry, briefed the meeting regarding benefits and background of the water transport. Chairman Wapda, representatives from Planning Commission and Pakistan Navy also presented their point of views on the proposed authority.
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