industrial policy, its spatial aspects and cluster development in ...

Ministry of Industries and Production, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Railways and
provincial governments must participate in decision making.
Truckers get away with low quality haulage services due to a lack of regulation. The
market offers low barriers to entry and trucks can be financed at low interest rates. This
causes cut-throat competition and a downward pressure on fares, often below operating
costs. Overloading and poor maintenance of trucks affects both road quality and
transport service. To correct this market failure, truckers need to register and the
government must impose quality standards and encourage branding, so that with
premium attached to brands, fares will increase. In case of overloading, the magnitude
of the fine should nullify the incentive to overload.
In partnership with the private sector, logistical parks of international standard need to
be setup near industrial areas, agricultural hubs, and ports. For this purpose, land needs
to be provided, and government should invite local/foreign investors to develop
facilities for storage, loading-unloading facilities, and rest areas. Dry ports should be
established within or adjacent to these logistical parks37 . Vehicle quality testing stations
and a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based tracking facility should be
established within the logistical parks. The government should also ensure the creation
of cold storage facilities near agricultural hubs and expedite the creation of cold chains
from agro-based clusters to Karachi.
2.3.2.4.2 Ports
Many of the inefficiencies of ports have to do with delays at the port, high charges,
labour problems and restrictive practices in on-shore cargo handling. This results from
the port authority being run as a government monopoly. The government needs to
transition to the role of setting standards and monitoring compliance, leaving daily port
operations to the private sector. This will promote competition and result in efficiencies
such as lower service tariffs from competitive operators. Privatized container terminals
show that significant efficiency gains can be achieved [Ministry of Industries (2005)].
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Logistical parks provide trucking space, short residences, hotels, recreation etc.
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