Federal Minister for Railways, Azam Khan Swati, has said that the loss-making Pakistan Railways has been made a profit-making entity.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad after inaugurating the “Train Branding,” Federal Minister for Railways, Senator Azam Khan Swati, informed that Pakistan Railways had entered into a collaboration with the corporate sectors, where the coaches of passenger trains would be branded by leading companies with their advertisements. He said that the measure is a “win-win” for both advertisers and the railways.
Swati said that a branding policy based on security and longevity, as required by every businessperson or investor, would soon be approved under his supervision.
He said that without the cooperation of the corporate sector, it would be impossible to make Pakistan Railways a profitable entity. The minister assured the corporate community that the present contracts would not be affected by any policy changes of the future governments.
Swati said that they were striving hard to use the dormant resources for the uplift and betterment of Pakistan Railways and said that railways were the key to economic development.
He said that his government had made the Railways Police independent so they could perform their duties with no political pressure or hindrance. This would also help prevent theft of railways scrap, which was going on for the past 70 years, he added. He admitted that despite the stringent steps, he could not stop the leakages in the system, and still railways scrap is being stolen.
He said that independent Railways Police could also apprehend the black sheep within the railway’s department without having to fear any backlash.
He said that although he had been in the seat for only one year and three months, his performance would speak when the Profit and Loss Account of Pakistan Railways would appear before the public on 30 June 2022.
He even said that despite very limited resources, he and his team would not only bring the railway out of deficit but would soon make it a profitable entity. The minister claimed that he would have surpassed the former Indian Railways Minister, Lalu Prasad, if he had the resources.
Swati said that the fares and freight charges would also be reduced once the railways’ profits increased. He also expressed hope to start the passenger train connecting Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul-Moscow and Central Asia.
Answering a question regarding the opposition’s proposed “Vote of No Confidence” against the government, he said that the opposition was destined for humiliation and defeat.
The ministry has received Rs. 85 million as token money from three different firms interested to invest in the branding initiative of the railways.
The three successful bidders for the railways branding project are:
- Shouguang Business Group China (Pakistan Chapter) with Rs. 50 million investment
- M/s Predam and Maxtelz JV with Rs. 30 million investment
- M/s Jan Builder with Rs. 5 million investment
Follow ProPakistani on Google News & scroll through your favourite content faster!
Support independent journalism
If you want to join us in our mission to share independent, global journalism to the world, we’d love to have you on our side. If you can, please support us on a monthly basis. It takes less than a minute to set up, and you can rest assured that you’re making a big impact every single month in support of open, independent journalism. Thank you.
