http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.404480844&par=0
Islamabad, 13 April (AKI) - (Syed Saleem Shahzad) - Pakistan is making an active bid to carve out a greater share of regional trade and prevent its arch-rival India from competing with it in southwest and central Asian markets. A delay in completing the Indian built Zaranj-Delaram highway in Afghanistan has boosted Pakistan's chances of success, by giving it crucial extra time to build up its infrastructure and penetrate the region's markets, well before India connects to central Asia via Iran. Afghanistan, is a key trade conduit and a new member of the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Had the Zaranj-Delaram highway linking northern Afghanistan to Iran's ports been completed on schedule in 2006, India would have gained easy and direct access to Afghanistan and the whole of central Asia, dealing a severe blow to Pakistan’s trade strategy. This revolves around its 300 million dollar Gwadar deep sea water port, inaugurated last month and envisaged by Pakistan as the regional hub for trade and commerce in southwest and central Asia.
The Zaranj-Delaram highway project is now likely to be completed by December 2008, giving Pakistan crucial additional time to set up a transit trade mechanism with neighbouring countries especially China, Afghanistan and Central Asian states that would make Gwadar port an attractive proposition for regional markets.
To increase the freight facilities in the country, the prime minister Shaukat Aziz has initiated the National Trade Corridor Improvement Programme (NTCIP). This includes the introduction of freight trains and new trucks in the private sector and reconstruction of highways.
Aziz has also ordered an overhaul of the entire structure of the trucking system and a policy paper on country's road freight industry. He has signalled the country needs to transport more goods by rail.
Vast potential for increasing the volume of trade between the Central Asian States, Afghanistan and Pakistan exists in many sectors. And once Gawadar port is fully operational, experts predict it will open a major new trading window with China. The distance from the commercial centre of Kashgar in northwestern China to Chinese east coast ports is 3,500 km, whereas the distance from Kashgar to Gawadar is only 1,500 km.
Gawadar offers cost benefits to western China's imports and exports - also being eyed by Pakistan's growing freight industry. Poor roads and vehicles and a lack of rail cargo capacity are however the main obstacles to the smooth operation of the transit trade.
To replace the ageing trucks on Pakistan's roads, the government has also decided to allow the import of used articulated vehicles that are no more than five years old.
The government has also initiated a progamme to improve road facilities and has allocated 5.8 million dollars for the modernisation, repair and construction of Pakistan's ports, rail and roads sectors. It has also moved to build new warehousing facilities and overhaul existing customs, insurance and banking systems.
(Aki/Syed Saleem Shahzad
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