No compromise on the axle load regime: Aleem Khan
Islamabad: A high level meeting was held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan to conduct a detailed review of the Axle Load Control Regime (ALCR). The meeting was attended by the Federal Secretary for Communications, the Chairman National Highway Authority, and IG Motorways Police, along with the Directors Generals of the National Logistics Corporation (NLC) and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), who provided briefings on relevant issues.
The meeting addressed issues regarding road safety and damage to driving surfaces because of incorrect or unlabelled loading, with 30,000 axle load violations reported over the past six months severely damaging road surfaces. According to officials, a new model weighing station is currently under construction in Sangjiani - according to international standards - that will set the bar for other similar stations across the country and help manage the load burden on road infrastructure.
The minister issued directives during the meeting, ordering necessary amendments to the NHA's legal framework to be proposed within one week to immediately eliminate legal and operational hurdles regarding the axle load regime. He further said that transporters should be given clear guidance on vehicle body manufacturing and advised against installing unnecessary heavy decorative accessories that increase overall weight.
He warned that fines will now be imposed not only on vehicle owners but also on factories identified for overloading trucks. Aleem Khan made it mandatory for all freight vehicles to pass through weigh stations and directed the complete automation of the weigh station system, though the timeline remains unclear.
He said that shifting to an automated system would eliminate long queues and prevent lost time, while also ordering the establishment of weigh stations on GT Road similar to those on the motorways network.
Aleem Khan instructed the NHA, NLC, and FWO to adopt a joint strategy at Karachi Port and emphasised that planning must account for the upcoming twenty years instead of just present conditions and said he would personally visit 10 different locations across the motorway network to inspect practical implementation of the axle load regime firsthand and ensure strict compliance with rules and regulations.
