Summary River and canal network can be used to save fuel, say experts.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Experts called the business community especially industrialists to transport their cargo goods through rivers and canals to save the money as well as environment.
This was said by the speakers at a seminar, organized by the Institute of Policy Studies. The speakers included Naeem Sarfraz, former chairman, Maritime Task Force, Imtiaz Tajwar, , Riaz Khan and Commodore M. Azhar, former DG, Gwadar Port Authority, while Mirza Hamid Hasan, former secretary, water and power was in chair.
The panelists observed that the extensive river and canal network of Pakistan was used over centuries for transportation. There was no cargo movement on the waterways now, despite the fact that huge fuel savings can be achieved in the country, which was highly dependent on expensive imported fuel. The fuel saved can be used for critical power generation.
Naeem Sarfraz started with allaying those apprehensions and said that Pakistan had 30,000 kilometers of navigable channels and each of the over two dozen studies and surveys conducted on the subject have declared it a viable, profitable and sustainable option.
Imtiaz Tajwar said that inland navigation had been part of the mandate given to the authority since time of its inception in 1958 yet it could never become a focus in its agenda.
Commodore Azhar informed the audience about the terrain and findings of the surveys conducted while Riaz Khan emphasized the economic viability of the project.
