FPCCI Highlights Immense Business Opportunities in Inland Water Transport to Reduce Cost of Doing Business Atif Ikram Sheikh, President FPCCI

Karachi: Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh, President FPCCI, hosted a high-profile session on "Inland Water
Management and Business Opportunities" was held at the FPCCI Head Office, Federation
House, in Karachi.

It is pertinent to note that the session featured a comprehensive presentation by renowned water
expert, Commodore Naeem Sarfraz, outlining the strategic, economic and commercial viability
of the sector.

Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh stressed that unlocking potential of the inland water transport is in the
interest of the economy as the scope is immense; and, highly profitable business opportunities
are available in various sectors of inland water transport and management.

Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh highlighted that the entire world is reaping economic benefits from its
natural resources. FPCCI is fully committed to promoting water transport and management in
Pakistan to make Pakistan globally competitive.

Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh elaborated that strategic inland water routes are an efficient water
transport system; and, can be successfully initiated stretching from Attock all the way to Karachi.

Mr. S. M. Tanveer, Patron-in-Chief, UBG, unscored the significance of private sector
opportunities as the inland water sector offers boundless aveues for private sector investment and
entrepreneurship. He added that logistics and cost efficiency has been a major challenge for
Pakistani businesses; and, road transport volume currently stands at a massive 239 billion tons.
By shifting to water transport, logistics costs can be reduced by up to 10 times compared to road
transport and up to 3 times as compared to railways, he noted.

The keynote speaker and Pakistan’s foremost water expert, Commodore Naeem Sarfraz,
informed the session on the operational progress; stating during his detailed presentation, that
some East-to-West commercial operations have already commenced and North-to-South
operations may be launching soon with the help of stakeholders.

Mr. Saquib Fayyaz Maggo, SVP FPCCI, explained that encouraging investors is what the need
of the hour is; and, FPCCI will actively encourage and facilitate its members to invest in the
water transport sector. He apprised that inland water transport has already seen regional success;
citing regional examples, noting that Bangladesh has already successfully adopted and benefited
from inland water transport.

Mr. Abdul Mohamin Khan, VP & Regional Chairman FPCCI, Sindh, said that inland water
transport can offer economic relief as the overall cost of doing business in Pakistan can be
significantly minimized by transitioning to water transport.

Mian Zahid Hussain, Chairman FPCCI Policy Advisory Board (FPCCI-PAB), maintained that
rising freight costs is a major detriment as the cost of transporting goods via road in Pakistan has
alarmingly reached up to Rs. 11 kg – making the development of alternative transport
infrastructure a critical necessity for economic survival.

Brig Iftikhar Opel, SI (M), Retd.

Secretary General