Railway Official Apprised About Problems To Businessmen Due To Improper Functioning Of Aza Khel Dry Port

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Jul, 2023 ) :Chairman Standing Committee of Sarhad Chamber on Railways and Dry Port, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi has apprised the newly appointed Divisional Superintendent (DS) Peshawar Railways, Athar Riaz about the problems being faced by the business community of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to improper functioning of newly constructed Aza Khel Dry Port.

According to a press statement issued here, Zia ul Haq Sarhadi who is also Director Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) called on DS Railways Peshawar and congratulated him on his appointment.

During the meeting, Zia told DS Railways that at the time of the inauguration of Aza Khel Dry Port, the business community was assured that One Window operation will be started at the facility while an export cargo train would also be launched for the transportation of goods between Karachi and Peshawar.

The cargo train which would have provided many facilities to businessmen dealing in imports and exports of goods and had to transport transit goods from port city to Peshawar, could not be launched after the passage of years, Zia mentioned.

He said for the last twenty years, export cargo is closed from Peshawar dry port, and all the export goods are transported in trucks from Peshawar to Karachi.

Zia said KP is blessed with numerous natural resources like gems, marbles, granite, and other items like handicrafts, carpets, honey, and match sticks.

All these items should have been transported from Peshawar to Karachi for export purposes in cargo trains from Aza Khel dry port instead of trucks, he added.

He said the Aza Khel dry port is almost non-functional due to which more than 250 custom clearing agents in KP are still idle and have no work to do or make some earning for the families.

Due to the launching of cargo trains, Pakistan Railway can make a significant generation of funds under the head of transportation charges of export-import goods from one end of the country to the other.

He said due to the non-functioning of cargo trains and heavy transportation charges of trucks, a large portion of the Afghan Transit trade business has been shifted to Bandar Abbas seaport in Iran.

He also informed Railway officials that at Azha Khel dry port there is lack of facilities for businessmen and export consignments are kept under the open sky.