Ports, Logistics & Transportation

Prior to the pandemic, Pakistan’s ports handled a total trade volume of approximately 110.69 million tons during 2019. In 2020, with COVID-19 slowing the global economy, the volume dropped to 92.85 million tons, thus a difference of about 17.84 million tons or about 16.12% on the volume of 2019. Almost the entirety of the aforementioned volumes were handled by Karachi Port and Port Qasim, both situated at Karachi. Both these …

Not today but five years ago, in the wake of advanced research, financial incentives and public awareness campaigns, Norway had a breakthrough with around 70,000 EVs on the road in Norway. There is a paradigm shift today, to say the least. Sales of electric cars topped 2.1 million globally in 2019. There is a whopping 40% year-on-year increase in EVs globally which speaks volumes of what the world would be …

Al-Hajj to launch proton variants Malaysian auto giant Proton, which has collaborated with Al-Haj Automobile, the assembler of FAW automobiles in Pakistan, will be launching its SUV crossover X70 soon along with a sedan named Saga. The company has confirmed that it will initially launch two vehicles and will offer variants in CBU condition. Proton has received a green-field status under the Auto Development Policy 2016-21. Under the status, new …

There is no concept of budget or low-cost airlines in Pakistan. On the contrary, there are ample budget airlines in plenty of countries across the globe for the domestic and international passengers, which eventually bring numerous opportunities to the economy in question in terms of growth in tourism, industrial revival, employment opportunities and beefing up the image of the country in question. The world’s best budget airlines are AirAsia, EasyJet, …

A famous adage goes as ‘The deeper the well, the cooler the water.’ The more the investment, the better the infrastructure as well as the more the convenience for the populace. Probably, this is beyond the comprehension of those who need to do it. Economic growth globally is contingent upon the state-of-the-art infrastructure and transportation. The public transportation is a long-held issue of the largest city of Pakistan. Most of …

A unique and terrifying moment in modern history is unfolding before us, every day but it teaches us a lesson of rapid transformation in many areas of public life as no country, or state, or locality, or even individual hospital was properly prepared for Covid-19. At this time of crisis where social distancing and culture of stay home to be safe are promoted supply of basic needs and goods is …

The studies revealed that a modernised and well-functioning road network with an integrated transport system ensures regional and global economic connectivity and integration. It reduces business costs for improving export competitiveness and trade to uplift socioeconomic growth along with offering passenger mobility gains. Furthermore, the said network is surely desired to be environmentally and economically sustainable also energy efficient. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been helping the Government of Pakistan …

Monthly sales of automotive industry for July 2002 were reported at 11,836 units, up 32%MoM, but down 10%YoY. This indicate a reversion to pre-COVID normalcy, completing a “V-shaped” recovery over five months while extending consecutive YoY downtrend to its 21st month (back to levels seen during 2009). Consequently, 7MCY20 total industry offtake was reported at 57,509 units, down 57%YoY), where major constituents moved down for Passenger Cars/LCVs. Recent comparisons reveal …

Most of our Chinese customers are back at work according to emails we received last week. Right when the coronavirus has hit Europe, China slowly seems to finally gain more control of the situation. What happened? For the first time, there is almost no container equipment in Europe and Northern America due to the carriers blank sailings. They want to be ready in China, waiting for the economy to go …

In order to advance ports and shipping, and make it more competitive, states and maritime organisations have relayed greatly on communication technology and digitalization of maritime operations. However, the risk of cyber attacks has been identified by International Maritime Organization (IMO) as the one of the key non traditional threat to the safe and secure maritime domain in contemporary era. According to the IMO, maritime cyber risk refers to “a measure of the extent to which a …