KARACHI, May 15: The city transport department has proposed amendments in the urban transport policy, which have been sent to the Sindh governor for an approval to attract foreign investment in urban transport sector.
Well-placed sources in the city government said the existing transport policy, devised for the metropolis, did not facilitate the foreign investors to bring large buses in public transport sector. They expressed their opinion that some incentives had to be given to the investors to attract them to invest in this sector.
They disclosed that the US national Pakistanis had shown interest to invest in urban transport, besides talks with the investors from Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and other countries were in progress. They said Chinese investors had shown willingness to induct a fleet of 1,000 new buses in the public transport.
The sources said there were a lot of investors, who wanted to invest in urban transport but due to lack of attraction and excessive capital cost, the investors avoided to finalize their plans.
They said the city government had deliberated the ground realities and felt that some amendments in the transport policy were imperative to attract the investors to facilitate the citizens of the metropolis.
Sources said it was observed more capital cost would result in increase in transport fare as the investors would meet their expenses through fares. They said capital cost be lessened so that transport fares could also be made affordable for common people citizens and they be easily regulated by the government.
They said the capital cost could be lowered by allowing the investors to import duty-free buses; provided the buses have CNG-fitted engines, which would also be environment-friendly.
It was also suggested that the government should subsidize the mark-up on the loan by four per cent, which the investors would obtain from a leasing company.
They said it was also proposed that the debt-equity ratio be increased to 70-30 per cent. It would attract foreign investors as they could avail the facility to obtain 70 per cent loan, on which four per cent mark-up would also be subsidized.
The sources said the most of the proposals have been adopted in the Punjab.