Pakistan serves as a key southern gateway for CAREC corridors 5 and 6, offering vital access to Arabian Sea ports, namely Karachi, Port Qasim, and Gwadar. With over 95% of freight moved by road, the country’s 263,000-km road network forms the backbone of domestic and regional trade. Rail contributes only 5% of the freight volume, hindered by aging infrastructure and limited freight capacity.
Despite the modal imbalance, Pakistan’s role in regional transit is expanding, especially on the Pakistan– Afghanistan–Uzbekistan corridor and under Afghanistan Transit Trade. However, logistical inefficiencies, fragmented regulations, and institutional overlaps continue to delay cargo flows and inflate costs.
Pakistan’s TFIs reflect persistent structural issues. TFI1 rose by 17% in 2023, with average border-crossing time exceeding 33 hr, especially at Torkham and Chaman BCPs, still among the most time-consuming in the region. TFI2 and TFI3 remained flat. Speeds (SWD and SWOD) declined marginally, reflecting the impact of congestion, worn infrastructure, and low fleet productivity.
With the Pakistan Single Window (PSW) now operational and major road upgrades underway, further efficiency gains depend on fully integrating digital platforms, streamlining border procedures, and expanding multimodal infrastructure to rebalance the logistics system toward rail and port connectivity
Structural Problems
Table 6.6: Trade Facilitation Indicators for Pakistan (2021–2023)
| Trade Facilitation Indicators | Road Transport | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | % change | ||
| TFI1 | Time taken to clear a border-crossing point (hour) | 35.3 | 28.2 | 33.1 | 17.42% |
| Outbound | 35.2 | 28.2 | 33.1 | 17.42% | |
| Inbound | 120.0 | – | – | – | |
| TFI2 | Cost incurred at border-crossing clearance ($) | 274 | 238 | 238 | 0.18% |
| Outbound | 274 | 238 | 238 | 0.18% | |
| Inbound | 525 | – | – | – | |
| TFI3 | Cost incurred to travel a corridor section | 620 | 546 | 569 | 4.08% |
| ($, per 500 km, per 20-ton cargo) | |||||
| SWD | Speed to travel on CAREC Corridors (km/h) | 11.8 | 13.3 | 11.4 | -14.38% |
| SWOD | Speed without Delay (km/h) | 27.3 | 25.2 | 24.8 | -1.53% |
TFI1 values reflect persistent inefficiencies in Pakistan’s border clearance processes. Average time to clear a BCP stood at 35.34 hr in 2021, decreased to 28.19 hr in 2022, and was back to 33.10 hr in 2023, recording a 17.4% year-on-year increase. Outbound clearance time followed the same pattern, as inbound data was not reported for 2022 and 2023. The rebound in clearance time suggests a decline in operational efficiency due to procedural bottlenecks, resurgent congestion at border terminals, and a lack of coordinated inter-agency processing.
TFI2 data shows relative cost stability over the period. Border clearance cost declined from $274.13 in 2021 to $237.75 in 2022, before increasing marginally to $238.17 in 2023, recording a 0.18% increase. The stagnation reinforces the perception of persistent cost burdens without corresponding service improvements. Outbound cost trends mirrored the overall pattern, while no inbound cost data were reported for 2022 and 2023.
Corridor travel costs for road freight in Pakistan remain high. TFI3 declined from $619.57 in 2021 to $546.34 in 2022 but rose again in 2023 to $568.63 (+4.1%). Factors contributing to high corridor costs include poor road conditions, fuel price fluctuations, lack of fleet modernization, and informal service charges. While the small decline in 2022 was encouraging, the increase in 2023 indicates unresolved systemic inefficiencies in transport logistics.
Pakistan’s corridor speed performance declined over the review period. SWD fell from 13.32 km/h in 2022 to 11.41 km/h in 2023 (–14.4%). The low SWD underscores significant time losses due to checkpoints, poor infrastructure, and traffic bottlenecks. SWOD also declined from 27.29 km/h in 2021 to 24.85 km/h in 2023 (–1.5%), reflecting limited improvement in road quality and journey reliability.