An efficient transport and communication system is not only a prerequisite for the economic development of a nation but is also essential for meaningful economic cooperation amongst nations, particularly, in the areas of trade and tourism and attracting foreign direct investment. Historically, developments in transport and communications have been critical in economic development and prosperity of the United Kingdom, United States, Japan and former Soviet Union. The European Union has one of the world's most advanced transport and communication system which has not only helped in bringing about political and economic integration of the community but has also been responsible for the economic development of the member countries through the efficient use of transport and communication linkages.

Improved transport and communication networks have helped mankind to think and work his way out of the bondage of poverty and despondency. The lack of well-developed and well-coordinated transport system with an outmoded communication network in the developing countries have been the major factors for the perpetuation of poverty. The efficiency of infrastructure services in which transport and communications play a very important role, is a major consideration in the decisions of transitional corporations with regard to investment locations. The participation of developing countries in the process of globalization thus crucially depends on the efficiency and reliability of their transport and communication services.

Transportation is not a producing sector but it is a link for other development sectors, hence it cannot be planned and managed as an isolated sector.

It is an essential input for mobility and access on which depends the success or failure of the development effort. The communication network on the other hand, does not depend exclusively on transport, rather it can provide new inputs to growth by disseminating knowledge. It is in this background that the Government is making serious efforts to develop an efficient transport and communications network to meet the growing need of the country. Private sector is also being encouraged to complement the efforts made by the government in accelerating the development of transport and communications network with a view to improve the accessibility and delivery of the services provided.

This chapter reviews the existing state of transport and communications network, various measures taken, and achievements made in different areas during the outgoing fiscal year 1999-2000.

I. TRANSPORT SYSTEM
There are various modes of transportation and the choice of a specific mode will depend crucially on the cost, performance, and development impact of alternative modes alongwith the geography and resources of the nation. The transport system in Pakistan broadly consists of roads network, railways, air transport and ports & shipping services.

a) Road Network
Over 90 percent of Pakistan's freight and passenger traffic travels by road for at least two reasons. Firstly, the economy and reliability of road transport has increased very rapidly in recent years as better roads and improved vehicle performance have revolutionized overland transport. Secondly, on many routes this is the only feasible method of mechanized transport. Hence, a large proportion of transport for short haults, high-value commodities , perishable, and small consignments, it is the overland transport which is widely used. Pakistan's performance in the building of roads has been quite credible. In the 1980s, the road kilometer increased from 93,960 to 162,345 amounting to a total increase of 68,385Km. In the 1990s, the road kilometer increased from 170,823 to 249,959 - an increase of 79,136Km. The share of high type road has increased from 49 percent in the 1980s to 54 percent in the 1990s. Table 15.1 presents the total length of roads in Pakistan.

Source: National Transport Research Centre

The present road network is not adequate to meet the requirements, however, the government has embarked upon an ambitious highways development programme. As mentioned earlier, Pakistan's performance in building roads has been credible despite serious budgetary problem, resulting into cuts in development expenditure. This fact is quite clear from Table 15.2 which compares Pakistan with other selected developed and developing countries.

Source: The World Development Report, 1999/2000

The percentage of paved roads in Pakistan is far better than the selected countries with the exception of Thailand and Malaysia. The present Government is taking various measures to increase the paved roads in Pakistan. The National Highway Authority is responsible for the development and maintenance of national highways. The total length of roads under the NHA is 7620 km, which accounts for 4 percent of the entire road network and 63 percent of the road traffic in the country. Details of the on-going road projects, are documented in the box.

NATIONAL HIGHWAYS, MOTORWAYS AND OTHER PROJECTS

A. National Highways
i. N-5 - Dualization of Karachi-Lahore-Peshawar-Torkham Highway (1756 Km) at a cost of Rs.30 billion;
ii. N-15 - Kaghan Valley Road (175 Km): Kaghan Valley Road at a cost of 3.2 billion has been finalized for the construction of 175 km long Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road. It is expected to complete by December, 2002.
iii. N-25 - Karachi-Khuzdar-Quetta-Chamman Highway (816 Km) is being widened and improved to international standards;
iv. N-40 - Lakpass-Dalbandin-Nokundi-Taftan Highway (610 Km) Nokundi-Taftan (124 km) Highway has been completed and opened to traffic while Dalbandin-Nokundi (94 km), is likely to be completed by June, 2000. The design of Lakpass-Dalbandin Section (307 km), has also been completed.
v. N-65 - Sukkur-Sibi-Quetta Highway (385 Km): The improvement of N-65, Dera Allah Yar-Nutal (65 km), and Nutal-Sibi (81 km), have been taken up and is likely to be completed within 4 years. The work of reconstruction/replacement of existing steel bridges (5 Nos.) on N-65 has been awarded for which, date of completion is June, 2001.
vi. N-50 - Quetta (Kuchlac)-Muslim Bagh-Zhob-D.I.Khan Highway (528 Km): Zhob-Dhanasar-Mughalkot (78 km) already upgraded by M/s FWO. The work on D.I.Khan-Mughalkot Section (124 km) recently started by FWO. The design work of Kuchlac-Muslim Bagh (100 km), Muslim Bagh-Kalokilla (100 km), and Kalokilla-Zhob Section III(117 km) are completed in the range of 85-95 percent.
vii. N-70 - Multan-D.G.Khan-Qilasaifullah Highway (439 Km): Work will start shortly.
viii. N-35 - Hassanabdal-Gilgit-Khungrab (803 Km): Work on upgradation of critical reaches on N-35 and replacement of old steel bridges by permanent concrete bridges has started. Work will be completed by June, 2000.
ix. N-55 - Indus Highway (1265 Km): Work on upgradation of Indus Highway Phase I & II from Kotri to Manjhand (57.7 km), Manjhand to Sehwan (70.2 km), Karappa Chowk to Badabher (51 km), Ratodero to Ghauspur (97.56 km), Ghauspur to Shori Nullah (76.47 km), Shori Nullah to Rajanpur (96.4 km), Sarai Gambila to Karak (60 km), has been completed and work is in advance stage of completion on D.G. Khan-Malana Junction (206 km). Design work on Phase III Sehwan-Ratodero (205 km), Rajanpur-D.G.Khan (110 km) and Malana Junction to Serai Gambila (112 km) has started and is expected to be completed by June, 2000.
x. Kohat Tunnel: This project was started on 02-08-1999 and will be completed by July, 2003. It includes construction of 1.88 km long two lane tunnel, 7.76 km Northern approach road and 20.408 km Southern approach road.

B. Motorway Projects:
i. Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway M-1 (154 Km): The work is in progress and is expected to be completed by December, 2001.
ii. Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad Motorway M-3 (52 Km): The construction work has started and expected to be completed by October, 2000.
iii. Lahore-Islamabad Motorway M-2 with links (335+32=367 Km) is in operation;
iv. Lahore Bypass (17 Km) and link from Motorway to G.T. Road near Kala Shah Kaku (7 Km) completed and opened to traffic.
v. Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway M-9 (135 Km): Letter of Support (LOS) has been issued for the construction of Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway on BOT basis.

C. Projects By NHA Under Government's Directives
i. Chiniot Bridge Project: The present progress is 90%.
ii. Thall-Parachinar: 75 km of road is expected to be completed by December, 2000. More than 79 percent work has been completed.
iii. Ratodero-Shahdadkot-Quba Saeed Khan: 64 km of road is expected to be completed by December, 2000. Slightly above 54 percent work is completed.
iv. Shahdadkot-Khuzdar: 35 km of road is expected to be completed by June, 2000. Almost 84 percent work has been completed.
v. Sukkur Bridge: This project is expected to be completed shortly.

D. Hill Roads
i. Islamabad-Murree Expressway: The work is under progress.
ii. Barian-Nathiagali-Abbotabad: The widening and improvement of Barian-Nathiagalli-Abbottabad (57.5 Km) has been completed and road is being extended 8 km towards Murree.

b) Pakistan Railways
Despite loosing its attractiveness in relation to road traffic, Pakistan Railways is still playing an important role in the country's economic development. By catering to the needs of large scale movement of freight as well as passenger traffic, Pakistan Railways is not only contributing to the economic growth but also promoting national integration.

Pakistan Railways network has been deteriorating over the years for a variety of reasons. Firstly, road rather than railway construction has received more emphasis in national development plans, reflecting considerations of comparative advantages of the two alternative systems. Secondly, since Railways received less attention in national plans, therefore, inadequate funding for operation and maintenance of the railway system led to its serious deterioration in services. Operational inefficiency, over-staffing and mismanagement are yet other reasons for the gradual decay of Pakistan Railways. Major rehabilitation investment in tracks and rolling stock are required to make Railways as an important system of transportation.

In order to improve rail-road's share of long-haul freight and passenger traffic, it is essential to upgrade track to permit trains to operate at higher speed and to rehabilitate infrastructure to improve capacity utilization. It is in this background that the present government has taken several steps to arrest the deteriorating trends in Pakistan Railways. It has declared Pakistan Railways as the main system of transportation and accorded priority in resource allocation. Administrative overhauling has also been undertaken by reorganizing the Railway Board where representation to the private sector and provincial governments have been given.

An Emergency Repair Plan amounting to Rs.3.897 billion for two years has been approved to arrest further deterioration of the Railway System. The plan includes recommissioning of 60 diesel locomotives, refurbishment of 240 Passenger Coaches, fitment of roller bearings to 574 freight wagons, replacement of 85 kms of overage rails and 187 kms of overage sleepers, strengthening of 62 bogies and improvement of signalling and telecommunication facilities. The Table 15.3 gives performance of the Railway Sector from 1980-81 to 1999-2000 (July-March):

Source: Ministry of Railways

It can be seen from the table that all the indicators of the Railways performance show a declining trend. When compared with road traffic, it is quite clear from Table 15.4 that Railways is trailing far behind in terms of passenger and freight traffic.

* Provisional
Source:
i) Ministry of Railways
ii) Ministry of Communications (National Transport Research Centre)

The share of Railways with regard to passenger traffic has remained more or less static over the last decade, whereas of those travelling by road have increased greatly. With respect to freight moved by the railways, this too, has declined over the years. On the contrary, the picture is totally different for road freight which has shown a steady and marked increase for the same period. Roads are therefore, becoming the major mode of travel for passengers as well as for freight.

Table .15.5 presents the position of broad gauge, meter gauge and narrow gauge of railways during 1990-91 to 1999-2000 (July-March).

Note: 374 Route KM of Broad Gauge and 611.10 KM of Narrow Gauge were closed w.e.f. 1.7.1991
Source: Ministry of Railways

An amount of Rs.2017.0 million was allocated for development programme of Railways in 1999-2000. The major activities included: (i) procurement of 8000 M. Tonnes of rails under Track Rehabilitation Project; (ii) rehabilitation of 6 diesel locomotives; (iii) manufacture of 6 diesel locomotives (3000 H.P.) in Locomotive Factory Risalpur, and (iv) fitment of Roller Bearings to 1400 number freight wagons. The on-going schemes of Track Circuiting from Hyderabad-Peshawar, over-head Bridge at Pattoki, Gojra under pass, provision of token block signalling on Kotri-Dadu, Habib Kot, Shahdara-Narowal and Sialkot-Wazir-abad Sec-tions will be completed during 1999-2000.

c) Air Transport
The government has opened the domestic aviation market to private sector competition. To date, four private carriers are operating successfully on local and international routes. Three private air lines, namely, Shaheen Air Lines, Aero Asia, and Bhoja Air Line are operating on local and international routes, while the fourth private sector airline, Safe Air International is operating on domestic routes only.

The national carrier, PIA, has a fleet of 48 planes (11 Boeing 747s; 10 Airbus A300-B4s; 6 Airbus A-310s; 7 Boeing 737s; 12 Fokker F-27s; and 2 Twin Otters). PIA serves 35 domestic and 37 international destinations. It has achieved an overall system regularity of 76.4 percent during the first nine months of the outgoing fiscal year, 1999-2000. Out of the total 32,716 flights operated, 23.6 percent or 7726 flights suffered delay mainly due to foggy weather in December 1999 and January 2000. A total of 4,081 million revenue passengers were carried by PIA on both international and domestic routes. PIA carried 80 percent of the Hajis, while the remaining 20 percent were carried by Saudi Arabian Airlines. A 63.5 percent of seat factor was achieved during the period. PIA's operating revenue and expenditure for the calender year 1999 is expected to be Rs.35,544 million and Rs.36,351 million, respectively, showing an operating deficit of Rs.807 million.

The government plans to continue modernization and upgrading its civil aviation facilities. This includes the construction of new terminal at Lahore at the cost of Rs.10.3 billion. A 38 percent of the construction work is completed and the complete work is expected to be completed by January, 2001. The construction of Secondary Runway at Karachi is expected to be completed and commissioned by the end of July 2000. The construction of a new airport in Islamabad is also on the card on BOT (Build Own Operate and Transfer) basis. The government, through its Civil Aviation Authority, also plans to build an Aviation Complex in Islamabad through private sector developers in the year 2000-01 while the construction of a concourse hall at Quetta Airport is still going on. Work on WGS (World Geodetic System) survey for introducing future air navigation system through satellite network and automation of AIS (Aeronautical Information System) is also in progress.

d) Ports & Shipping
The country has two major sea ports, namely, Karachi Sea Port and Port Qasim. Besides, two Fish Harbour-cum-Mini Ports are being developed at Gawadar and Keti Bunder. Karachi Port is a deep water natural sea port with long approach channel and can receive tankers, containers, bulk and general cargo ships. It is the main port, handling the majority of all dry and liquid cargo. Table 15.6 gives the total cargo handled at Karachi Port from 1990-91 to 1999-2000 (July-March).

Source: Karachi Port Trust

The above table shows that Karachi Port handled 18.7 million tonnes of cargo in 1990-91 (14.7 million tonnes of imports and 4.0 million tonnes of exports) and increased to 24.0 million tonnes (18.3 million tonnes of imports and 5.7 million tonnes of exports) by 1998-99, increasing at a compound rate of 2.8 percent per annum. The Port has handled 18.0 million tonnes of cargo during July-March 1999-2000 (13.6 million tonnes of imports and 4.4 million tonnes of exports), as compared with 17.6 million tonnes of cargo (13.3 million tonnes of imports and 4.3 million tonnes of exports) during the corresponding period of last year showing an increase of 2.4 percent. The number of vessels handled during July to March 1999-2000 were 1,262.

Pakistan's dry and liquid cargo is projected to increase in the years to come, requiring expansion and upgrading of the country's port facilities. Containerized traffic is also projected to increase in the future. Consequently, a comprehensive phased implementation development programme has been formulated under the "Karachi Port Modernization Project-ports-VI", at a cost of about US $ 350 million, including foreign currency financing of US $ 187 million, by the World Bank. Construction of fully integrated container terminal (with investment of US $69 million), and setting of off-dock/CFS terminal (estimated cost of US $10 million) have been awarded to the private sector. In addition, the work on self financed reconstruction of berths No.5-10 at east wharves (approximate cost of Rs. 1,808.07 million); provision of navigational aids and radar (estimated cost of Rs.50 million); procurement of one surveillance vessel cum-pilot boat (estimated cost of US $1.40 million); procurement of 2 tugs and 2 pilot boats (estimated cost of Rs.448.35 million); refurbishment/reconstruction of OP-II, and widen-ing, upgrading and reconstruction of Mauripur road including two bridges over river lyari, (estimated cost of Rs.102.715 million) are under progress.

Port Qasim, located 50 Km southeast of Karachi, is Pakistan's second deep sea port and was built for overflow from Karachi Port and to handle raw material imports for Pakistan Steel Mills. Port Qasim has been in operation since 1980 as a commercial port. With its nine berths, it has handled more than 127 million tonnes cargoes of diversified nature since 1980 and until the end of the last millennium. Among nine berths, one berth i.e. FOTCO Oil Terminal with design capacity of nine million tonnes cargo and operational since April 1995, has been developed in the private sector on BOO (Build, Own, Operate) basis. A Bulk Chemical Terminal in private sector built on BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) basis started functioning in early 1998. Further terminals are planned in private sector on BOT basis for handling of LPG, Grain, Fertilizer and Edible Oil.

Cargo volume during the period July-March 1999-2000, stood at 9.5 million tonnes in Port Qasim, comprising 9.1 million tonnes import cargo and 0.4 million tonnes export cargo, thereby showing an increase of 19% over the corresponding period last year. In terms of imports and exports of containerized cargo in Port Qasim, the imports declined by 6.1% while exports increased by 6.7% showing a net positive effect of around 1%. The increase of 19% in cargo volume is mainly attributable to larger imports of furnace oil, chemicals and Pak Steel imports of raw material which stood at 3.8 million tonnes, 0.4 million tonnes and 1.8 million tonnes, depicting percentage increase of 36%, 153% and 25% over the corresponding period of last year. Ship calling frequency also rose by 10% during July-March 1999-2000 over the corresponding period of last year. Port Qasim plans to handle 15.0 million tonnes of cargo during the fiscal year 2000-01 - an increase of around 16 percent over the current year. Container traffic is also expected to increase by 33% during next fiscal year. Port Qasim earned an operating income of Rs.1024.2 million during July-March 1999-2000, showing an increase of 8.5% as compared with Rs.943.4 million during July-March 1998-99.

Major development projects currently being implemented in Port Qasim include: (i) deepening and widening of navigational channel to accommodate vessels of 75000 DWT class vessels; (ii) introduction of night pilotage and advance vessel tracking system; (iii) procurement of tugs and pilot boat; (iv) development of additional berths; (v) marine workshop and dry docking facilities; and (vi) dualization of Port's access road to cater for increased traffic volumes.

International merchandise trade depends overwhelmingly on ocean shipping and its corresponding port facilities. Like Railways, ship-ping also requires government attention. The national flag carrier, Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) has fleet of 15 vessels with a dead-weight tonnage of 261,836 and handles operations for shipment of rice exports, fertilizer, iron ore, coal and wheat imports. The PNSC has now taken over transportation of crude oil requirements which were earlier awarded to foreign operators. A Container Service has been established between Karachi and Colombo.

In order to revive shipping services the present government has taken several decisions which include: (i) PNSC should have the first Right of Refusal for government/Public sector cargo but the freight charges should be competitive; (ii) transportation of crude oil/petroleum products by PNSC vessels will be assured to the extent possible; (iii) the National Tanker Company (NTC) will be merged with the PNSC; and (iv) the PNSC will go ahead and acquire a suitable oil tanker from the market. However, no Government guarantee will be provided for this acquisition. A Committee of the Cabinet on Ports and Shipping has now been formed under the chairmanship of the Chief Executive of Pakistan.

II. COMMUNICATIONS

Communication technology has evolved rapidly over the past decades making it possible to establish and expand faster, cheaper and more reliable lines of communications nationally and internationally. Therefore, an efficient communication system is not only essential for promoting commercial exchanges but also important for fostering national integration and increasing regional/global trade. Over the years, Pakistan has made considerable progress in developing modern telecommunication and postal services.

Table 15.7 shows the present position of post and communications from 1980-81 to 1999-2000 (July-March):

Note:
i) The number of TV and VCR sets are estimated.
ii) 48 PCOs converted into Customer Services Centres in urban areas
iii) Customer Service Centres increased upto 158 in urban areas.
iv) No radio fee is being collected by the Post Office Deptt. due to the withdrawal of fee collection by the government since 1st July, 1999.
..: Not available
P: Provisional
Source: a) Directorate General Pak Post Office.
b) Pak Telecommunication Company Ltd
c) Pakistan Television Corporation.

The above mentioned table shows that key indicators of communication improved substantially over the last two decades. The number of post offices were 11,238 in 1980-81 which increased to 12,854 in 1998-99. The telephone connections in 1980-81 were 358,800 which increased upto 2,861,100 in 1998-99, while number of PCOs was 1,689 in 1980-81 which increased upto 10,107 in 1998-99.

The post office is a Federal Government Department which provides postal facilities through a net work of 12,854 post offices across the country. Of which, 2,103 post offices (16.4 percent) are located in urban areas and 10,751 post offices (83.6 percent) in rural areas. Beside postal services, it also provides services of savings bank, life insurance, payment of military pensions, disbursement of assistance from the Baitul Mal, collection of utility bills, collection of motor vehicles tax, renewal of arms and driving licenses, issue and renewal of TV Licenses etc. In order to maintain steady expansion of the postal services in the country, a new scheme "Franchise of Post Office" on commission basis was introduced. So far 175 franchise post offices have been set up in the country which are functioning mainly in major cities.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority in pursuance of Cabinet's decision dated 20th January, 2000, for regulating the operation of terrestrial cable TV distribution system has invited applications from registered, reputed companies or firms having technical know how and experience to develop and establish terrestrial cable TV distribution network. The Cable TV network consists of Multilevel Coax Tree and Branch Network serving thousands of customers from a single head end. They provide a unidirectional (downstream) path, which is used to distribute the TV signals. Modernization and in- novation are rapidly changing cable television. The technical capabilities of the cable system have been enhanced and expanded, and the programme delivered over the network.

The National Telecommunication Corporation is providing installed capacity of 45,000 lines in Federal & Provincial Capital and work is in progress for installation of another 26,500 new lines with the assistance of PTCL in 46 new locations up to district level covering all the Provinces of Pakistan. The NTC will also provide similar communication facilities to its designated customers in other cities and towns. The expansion work is expected to be completed by the end of the year 2000. All NTC exchanges are digital and will be linked to each other through optical fiber (OFC) media and Digital Radio System (DRSs) besides Microwave. Other services, such as, data/internet and Card Pay Phone for NTC designated customers will also be provided by the Corporation.

At present there are more than 3.8 million lines out of which about 3.03 million lines are connected to the customers, 2,663 telephones exchanges, 1362 NWD exchanges, 10256 VHF (Very High Frequency) PCOs, 393 Telegraph Offices and 112 Customers Service Centres are working in the country whereas 69 PTCL PCOs are working in W.T.R. Quetta.

The government has planned through the PTCL to add 1,89,000 new telephone lines in the ADP and 1,11,000 lines against BT Project during 1999-2000. Moreover, replacement of old 65,000 lines under the ADP and 1,78,000 lines against BT Project shall be done during the year 1999-2000.

At present, about 21,000 customers are connected through internet, whereas the total number of internet users in Pakistan upto March, 2000 are 120,000. The number of internet connections shall be increased upto 50,000 during financial year 1999-2000. The PTCL is the first company in South Asia to start a public Internet service and PTCL's Paknet is truly the largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Pakistan since October, 1999. It is also providing backbone Internet connectivity to small and large Internet Service Providers (ISPs), corporate customers, educational institutions and software export houses. The PTCL in a bid to make Internet access cheaper, is setting up a Network Access Point which would be an Internet hub connected with International Internet backbone and allow connectivity to local ISPs at a much reduced and economical rate. This would serve as the primary Internet gateway from Pakistan to global Internet backbone in the years ahead.?

The developing countries in particular and world in general have given due attention to the development of information technology. For this purpose, the present government has established a full fledged Division namely "Information Technology and Telecommunications Division" with the following objectives:

i) preparation of an overall integrated plan as well as formulation of policy for the develop-ment and improvement of information technology, including infrastructure in Pakistan;

ii) coordination with the Provincial Govern-ments, autonomous bodies, private sector, international organizations and foreign countries in respect of information technology.

III. ELECTRONIC MEDIA

An efficient and modern media is essential for the economic, social and political development of country particularly for developing countries like Pakistan. In fact, it is an important organ of good governance in the country. The present government have given due importance to this sector. Electronic media consists of Pakistan Broadcasting Corpo-ration and Pakistan Television Corporation Limited. These two corporations are playing an effective role for socio-economic uplift of the country and entertainment to the people.

Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation has played a pivotal role in promoting national interest by providing information, entertainment and edu-cation to audiences at home and abroad. At present, PBC has 27 stations through out the country, including 3 FM stations at Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi with total transmitting power of 3721 KW in medium and shortwave. The programme/news are now broadcast for 442 hours a day, 392 in home which includes 85 hours of FM service and 50 in world and external services. At present, 21 foreign radio stations are monitored in seven languages by PBC Central News Organization.

Pakistan Television Corporation Limited established in 1967 with the prime objectives and functions to establish a Television Network in the country for the provision of television broadcast services by telecasting programmes of all kinds i.e. news, pictorial, documentaries, local and foreign films for the purposes of disseminating infor-mation, education and purposeful entertainment. There are two channels in the country, namely, General Purpose Television (PTV-I) and Second TV Channel for Education (PTV-2). In addition, PTV has also obtained right to use air time to SRBC 13 Transmitters on income sharing basis.

Introduction of PTV-WORLD towards the utilization of facilities and commercial potential of PTV-2 has proved successful. It has developed its viewership and also commercial potential over a period of one year. It provides a second choice to the viewers and an advertisement venue to parties who cannot afford publicity of their products on PTV-I. Introduction of Prime TV from Oslo and Mid-East Time from UAE for PTV viewers in Europe and Middle East respectively, has enabled PTV to telecast TV signal to Pakistani expatriates and also compete with other channels to find its place in international markets.

The estimated number of TV, VCR sets in the country as on June 30, 1999, were 3.035 million and 0.136 million respectively. As on March 31, 2000, the TV and VCR sets are estimated to be 3.150 million and 0.136 million respectively. License fee collection of VCR and Dish antenna has been suspended in view of directives of the previous government. However, license fee collection ratio is about 47 percent of the registered sets which is expected to improve in view of privatization of License Fee Collection.