PESHAWAR, Feb 20: Lack of infrastructure is hampering timely clearance of goods reaching at the sole dry port in the provincial capital through the Afghan Transit Trade.

Traders told Dawn that drastic steps were needed to improve the infrastructure and logistic facilities to exploit the country’s potential as a transit corridor to the landlocked Central Asian countries and Afghanistan.

Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, president of the Frontier Customs Agent Group, regretted that absence of required facilities at the dry port was causing considerable loss to traders.

According to him, 40 to 50 cargo railway wagons arrived at the dry port daily carrying different kinds of goods, which earned huge revenue to the railways department and generated economic activity in the cash-starved province. But, he maintained, the port did not have sufficient facilities. Warehouses did not have the capacity to accommodate goods in bulk. This was causing losses to the tune of millions of rupees to traders, he said.

To reduce burden on the dry port, the government had allowed the National Logistic Cell (NLC) to carry the Afghan Transit Trade goods from the Karachi seaport to its Amangarh station. However, he pointed out, that too could not be considered a modern dry port and it was only being used for NLC trucks.

Mr Sarhadi was of the view that being gateway to Central Asian countries and Afghanistan, Peshawar deserved to have a modern dry port. This would not only earn the government more revenue, but would also increase the size of trade between the two neighbouring countries, he said.

Traders said the then Sardar Mehtab-led provincial government had approved Rs20 million for establishment of a modern dry port and had allotted 64 acres of land near Azakhel Payan on the G. T. Road for the purpose. The land was previously used by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees during the Afghanistan war and had storage facilities. But unfortunately, they said, the project was abandoned after the provincial government was dissolved.

Traders say improvement of logistic facilities will boost economic development, adding the government should materialise the previous plan of setting up a dry port at Azakhel Payan.