The court asked the representative of Ministry of Communications about the outcome of the meeting held by Secretary Communications in Islamabad with the stakeholders on September 4. The representative informed the court that discussions were held for the entire day. The cement and steel industry is seeking relief to overload the trucks on NHA network and asking NHA to stop the implementation of axle load regime for a period of time (they started with 5 years relaxation request and came down to 9 months).
However, the transport community did not relent and stated that we do not agree for even one-day relaxation in the axle load regime. All transport associations were united with the implementation of the law in letter and spirit. The statement said that the court did not grant the stay order to the industry. Instead they asked the government representative to inform the court as to when they will have a concluding meeting. The representative sought time until October 2.
In the meantime, as per Islamabad High Court decision, the implementation of the axle load regime will continue with full vigor. The statement said that during the meeting, Altaf Asghar, Senior Joint Secretary, Ministry of Communications, stated that of the 1,800 kms stretch of the GT Road, 800 kms has to be urgently repaired. The cost of these repairs is estimated to be Rs 45 billion. The government has no funds to repair this portion and has sought a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
It is feared that if overloading continues, the remaining 1,000 kms of the GT Road will also deteriorate and we will have to seek further loans to repair the same, the statement said.-PR