Northern Areas Transport Corporation (NATCO) will launch a state-of-the-art ferry service at the Attabad Lake to provide much-needed transportation facilities to the people of Gojal.
In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, NATCO Managing Director (MD) Zafar Iqbal said that the company will provide cheap and quality transport service to the passengers once it procures a special boat costing Rs15 million, a tender for which has already been floated.
The boat will have two marine engines and will seat 70 passengers and carry five tons of goods. The ferry will be fully covered to ensure a comfortable ride for passengers, particularly in winters, he added.
The MD Zafar Iabal who has been successfully running the only transport service in public sector for the last over three decades said that NATCO is the only government-run corporation which is generating profit; its accumulated profit is Rs550 million. The corporation is one of the largest transportation companies and presently runs 362 vehicles including buses, coasters, boats and trucks.
“We have provided transportation service with relatively subsidized rates from Sindh to Kashgher through different routes,” the MD said. We have linked Rawalpindi to Gilgit via Peshawar, Chitral, Shandur, Ghizer to facilitate locals and visitors.
He said that 25 trucks will be inducted into the existing fleet of 130 trucks in July for the smooth transportation of wheat supply to far flung areas of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B). According the MD, the people of G-B get subsidized wheat due to free transportation of NATCO.
The MD said that NATCO has also planned to establish restaurants in Mansehra, Bisham and Chilas to facilitate passengers from Islamabad to Gilgit, as the passengers are served substandard meals by private hotel owners.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ