Key Findings
CPMM in 2022 showed the following year-on-year changes in Pakistan’s road transport data from 2021:
- Border-crossing time dropped from 35.3 hours to 28.2 hours.
- Border-crossing cost decreased from $274 to $238.
- Total transport cost declined from $620 to $546.
- SWOD dipped from 27.3 km/h to 25.2 km/h, but SWD was up from 11.8 km/h to 13.3 km/h.
Table 3.13: Trade Facilitation Indicators for Pakistan, 2020–2022
| Road Transport | |||||
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |||
| TFI1 | Time taken to clear a border-crossing point (hour) | 55.7 | 35.3 | 28.2 | |
| Outbound | 53.3 | 35.2 | 28.2 | ||
| Inbound | 85.8 | 120.0 | – | ||
| TFI2 | Cost incurred at border-crossing clearance ($) | 280 | 274 | 238 | |
| Outbound | 275 | 274 | 238 | ||
| Inbound | 340 | 525 | – | ||
| TFI3 | Cost incurred to travel a corridor section ($, per 500km, per 20-ton cargo) | 704 | 620 | 546 | |
| TFI4 | Speed to travel on CAREC Corridors (km/h) | 8.0 | 11.8 | 13.3 | |
| SWOD | Speed without Delay (km/h) | 28.1 | 27.3 | 25.2 | |
km = kilometer, km/h = kilometers per hour, SWOD = speed without delay, TFI = trade facilitation indicator.
Source: Asian Development Bank.
Table 3.14: Border-Crossing Performance in Pakistan, 2020–2022
| BCP, Corridor and Direction of Trade | Duration, hours | Cost, $ | ||||||||
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |||||
| Road Transport | ||||||||||
| Chaman | (5, 6) | Outbound | 70.7 | 57.5 | 54.0 | 109 | 54 | 50 | ||
| Inbound | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| Peshawar | (5, 6) | Outbound | 50.0 | 31.6 | 24.2 | 311 | 309 | 267 | ||
| Inbound | – | 120.0 | – | – | 525 | – | ||||
| Khunjerab | (5) | Outbound | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Inbound | 2.3 | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
BCP = border-crossing point.
Source: Asian Development Bank.
Trends and Developments
Pakistan’s border-crossing time and cost results showed broad improvement in 2022. Total transport cost improved as well. Although SWOD was slower, SWD rose because less time was needed to cross the border. However, crossing the border in Pakistan was still more time-consuming than it is in other CAREC members. The 2022 average was 24.2 hours at Torkham, a major BCP gateway for bilateral and transit trade, and an even longer 54.0 hours at the high-traffic Chaman’s station. Along with the heavy throughput, Pakistan’s strict and complicated anti-smuggling inspection procedures were mostly to blame.
Recommendations
Coordinate border management with Afghanistan. Pakistan uses the Web Based One Customs system to process goods declaration and clearance, while Afghanistan employs ASYCUDA World. The systems and their data are not yet fully integrated electronically. The need to complete multiple forms and permits at the border is a major contributor to the long crossing times.
Improve queue management and gate control. Pakistan’s two BCPs lack proper parking space, and long disorganized queues are another common cause of delays. The problem is especially serious at Torkham where the terrain does not favor additional parking. The situation could be improved through the construction, where this is physically possible, of proper parking spaces for heavy transport vehicles. The BCP could adopt smart gate controls similar to those used at Georgia’s Sarpi BCP with Türkiye. The International Road Transport Union promotes the concept of TIR parks and is developing the use of the TIR system in Pakistan. It would be possible to engage this organization to work out a solution.
Solutions needed for traffic congestion around Karachi seaport. Karachi’s year-round seaport can serve as an important transshipment point for CAREC countries moving goods to and from international maritime trade lanes. Truck movement in and out of the port is, however, greatly slowed by the heavy traffic congestion in the urban area, a situation that requires both short-term and long-term solutions.