Haulers fear what they call a ‘backbreaking loss’ worth billions of rupees as Pakistan State Oil (PSO) plans replacement of hundreds of “old tank lorries” under the company’s new logistics’ standardisation roadmap.
PSO Managing Director (MD) and CEO Naeem Yahya Mir on Saturday convened and chaired a meeting at the PSO House, with the company’s logistics business partners that prominently included transporters, to take onboard all stakeholders on the company’s plan to facilitate the transportation of POL products on a new logistics vision.
According to a PSO statement, the members of all factions of Oil Tankers Cartage Association (OTCA) and All Pakistan Oil Tankers Owners Association (APOTOA) from Karachi and other parts of the country attended the meeting. The new roadmap provides for replacement of aging oil tankers for ensuring transportation of POL products according to international and local industry best practices.
PSO officials from international marketing and logistics department briefed the haulers, among other stakeholders, on the “depletion of old tank lorries and their respective replacement”. However, the proposed replacement plan did not go well with owners of oil tankers who link materialisation of the proposal to devastation of their businesses.
This replacement, according to haulers, would leave some 1,500 of their 9,000 oil tankers, enlisted with PSO’s Karachi zone, out of work. “They want us to upgrade our vehicles meaning replacement with new ones. But we told them that our vehicles are fit for transportation,” APOTOA Chairman Akram Khan Durrani told Pakistan Today.
The APOTOA chief said the two sides had exchanged views on the proposed plan on Saturday but a final decision would be taken after negotiations in the next meeting which was yet to be scheduled.
“We told them all we can do is colour our vehicles uniformly,” Durrani said, adding it would be unaffordable for haulers to buy new lorries. One oil tanker, he said, costs over Rs 10 million.
APOTOA Senior Vice President Hazrat Ali Afridi said carrying out the replacement would affect at least 1,500 oil tankers and according to a rough estimate each of the owners would be losing at least Rs 5 to 6 million.
Rejecting the plan to change the vehicles, Afridi said current market value of one old vehicle ranged between Rs 0.8 million and Rs 1 million. This means if replaced, the combined loss to the affected transporters would be somewhere around the Rs 1.5 billion mark, he said.
The APOTOA officials said they might consider the proposal positively if PSO compensated the loss incurred. “We, however, can think to go for the replacement if PSO cooperates with us in the shape of compensation,” said Afridi. The PSO, on the other hand, believes Saturday’s meeting with the stakeholders was a move towards standardisation of tank lorries and in compliance with best industry practices for safe and secure transportation of POL products nationwide.
“This shall not only lead to safe movement but shall also help mitigate and address various issues,” a company statement said. At the meeting, PSO officials apprised their business partners about the future requirements of the company as chalked out on the basis of international and local industry best practices.
PSO MD Mir highlighted the need for continuous support from company’s business partners to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies nationwide.
Mir also briefed stakeholders on the company’s new vision to be a regional and global player. The MD requested transporters to be open to change as it would be mutually beneficial for the company and all stakeholders. According to PSO, members of APOTOA and OTCA assured their support and commitment to the firm and lauded its logistics team for holding the maiden consultative meeting with stakeholders.
“They put forward some suggestions to support the company’s vision of modernisation of its fleet. They also requested that the new logistics policy be designed with consultation of business partners,” said a PSO statement.
its should change to new tank lorry but first open new NOC and then replace the tank….
This is a great article. Thanks for sharing this info. Will take note of this.
“This shall not only lead to safe activity but shall also help minimize and deal with various problems,” a organization declaration said. At the conference, PSO authorities informed their associates about the near future specifications of the organization as lined out on the reasons for worldwide and local market best methods.
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