Introduction
Based on the success of the Japanese Railways model, Pakistan Railways (PR) is currently following a similar strategy of converting its non productive assets into revenue generating and land mark projects. For this purpose PR established the Directorate of Marketing which works directly under the guidance of the Ministry of Railways to launch new business ventures using surplus Railways assets coupled with capital investment fully provided by the private sector.
The objectives of this Directorate are, through public-private participation, to conceive, plan, finance and manage commercial projects which shall generate additional revenue so as to help pay off pay PR’s long out standing over draft with the State Bank as well as to fund developments and upgrading of core operations. The Directorate aims at removing the need for Federal financial by being the first public sector organization to be financially viable and profitable in the long run.
History
As at the time of establishing the Directorate of Marketing, PR did not possess the requisite professional and managerial expertise to manage such commercial non-rail related ventures, to safe guard the success of this new initiate it was essential to out source the necessary expertise. For this extremely specialized task individuals were needed who could best understand the nature and needs of the private sector from where investment had to be generated. Hence individuals with backgrounds in disciplines of Business Management, Marketing, Sales, Finance and Law from the corporate sector were selected and recruited.
The Directorate compromises of a team headed by the Director Marketing with four Deputy Directors and four Assistant Directors working under him. The Directorate is based at Lahore with branch operations in Karachi, Multan and Islamabad. The Directorate is divided into following functional areas,
1. Advertising Department
2. Franchising Department
3. New Business Development
4. Real Estate Management
A brief detail of the working areas of each of these departments is given below.
Advertisement
The Railways network runs through the length and width of the country and where there is a rail track there is Railways real estate. Most of this huge land bank is situated at prime locations through out all towns and cities which provides advertisers with a very lucrative business opportunity. All advertising related business such as : Billboards, fleet advertising, Platform advertising, corporate and product branding on PR network, rolling stock and properties are dealt with by this department.
Commercial deals, identification of locations as well as permissible advertising sizes and methodology of payment have been completely streamlined. The mechanism for advertising on Railways network has also been fully simplified into a one-window operation for prospects interested in advertising anywhere on the entire Railway network through out the country.
New Business Development
This department is responsible for conceiving, planning, financing and managing high value real estate projects through public-private participation through out Pakistan. These commercial projects are primarily initiated on real estate assets which were previously either unutilized or under threat of permanent encroachment. Most of these projects are initiated on extremely competitive terms thorough joint venture agreements. For this purpose alone, for the first time in its history, Pakistan Railways has opened a foreign currency account to receive foreign remittance coming in against projects initiated by this department. This department also over sees the commercialization of institutions previously under the management of Railways but due to lack of proper supervision had become neglected, run down, and inoperable and as a result a considerable financial burden on Railways. Since these institutions were at one time the high lights in the Railway portfolio it was ensured that during commercialization the original purpose of these institutions were not changed. These institutions are now being renovated and shall be fully equipped and functional to provide a host of services to both the Railway employees as well as the general public, and will be a constant source of revenue to Railways. Some of the institutions which have been commercialized by this department include Railways hospitals, schools, clubs and sports stadiums etc. Despite its modest setup and relatively short term of existence, all these benchmark results have come about in just under a year of operations of this Directorate. However, the most outstanding success of this Directorate has been in its ability to build and maintain investors confidence despite the heavy odds. Today the Directorate of Marketing is bringing multination such as Coca Cola, lever Brother, Nestle and McDonalds onto its network as well as bringing in direct foreign investment into Railway projects from countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Dubai, Singapore, Europe etc. With the growing momentum of this Directorate’s operations it is hoped that I the near future PR can once again be perceived as the most professionally managed and marketed public asset and ultimately become the pride of the entire nation.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Pakistan Railways History
Pakistan Railways provides an important mode of Transportation in the farthest corners of the country and brings them closer for Business, sight seeing, pilgrimage and education. It has been a great integrating force and forms the life line of the country by catering to its needs for large scale movement of people and freight.The possibility of Karachi as a sea port was first noticed in the mid of 19th century and Sir Henry Edward Frere who was appointed Commissioner of Sind after its annexation with Bombay in 1847 sought permission from Lord Dalhousie to begin survey of sea port. He also initiated the survey for Railway line in 1858 . It was proposed that a railway line from Karachi City to Kotri, steam navigation up the Indus /Chenab upto Multan and from there an other railway to Lahore and beyond be constructed.
It was on 13th May,1861 that first railway line was opened for public traffic between Karachi City and Kotri, the distance of 105 miles. The line between Karachi City and Keamari was opened on 16.6.1889.By 1897 the line from Keamari to Kotri was doubled.
The railway line from Peshawar to Karachi closely follows Alexander’s line of march through the Hindu Kush to the sea. Different sections on existing main line from Peshawar to Lahore and Multan and branch lines were constructed in the last quarter of 19th century and early years of 20th century.
The 4 sections i.e.Scinde railways, Indian Flotilla company Punjab railway and Delhi railways working in a single company were later on amalgamated into Scinde, Punjab & Delhi railways company and was purchased by the Secretary of State for India in 1885 and in January, 1886 it was named North Western State Railways which was later on renamed as North Western Railways.
At the time of partition, North Western Railway’s 1847 route mile was transferred to India leaving route miles 5048 to Pakistan. In 1954 The railway line was extended to Mardan and Charsada section and in 1956 Jacababad-Kashmore 2’-6’’ line was converted into broad gauge. Kot Adu-Kashmore line was constructed between 1969 to 1973 providing an alternate route from Karachi to up country.
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with out PK Domains), hosting, networking solution. We have complete facilities to host static and Database websites.
The mission of the Information Technology Pakistan team is to ensure that our customers are successful in building, deploying, and migrating to Information Technology needs. We support that mission with a diverse team of business and technical experts ready to help you define your business objectives, design a dynamic Business to Consumer / Business to Business solution and implement it timely and cost-effectively.
Contact us and let us visit you to show the different ways that your company can benefit from Information Technology. Our consultants conduct a detailed evaluation of your current business processes and the systems that support them. We help you leverage what you have to move towards the next generation.
China's Information Technology
Facts and Figures:
China's population of Web users hits 298 million: China's fast-growing population of Internet users has risen to 298 million after passing the United States last year to become the world's largest, a government-sanctioned research group said Tuesday. The latest figure is a 41.9 percent increase over the same period last year, the China Internet Network Information Center said in a report. China's Internet penetration is still low at just 22.6 percent, leaving more room for rapid growth, according to CNNIC. The Pew Internet and American Life Project places U.S. online penetration at 71 percent. China's Internet use is growing at explosive rates despite government efforts to block access to material deemed subversive or pornographic. Regulators are in the middle of a crackdown on sites accused of carrying sexually explicit material. The financial size of China's online market still trails that of the United States, South Korea and other countries. The United States had an estimated 223.1 million Internet users in June, according to Nielsen Online, a research firm. China is preparing to launch third-generation mobile phone service — which supports wireless Web surfing — that is expected to set off a new surge in Internet use.
China Internet Network Information Center (in Chinese): http://www.cnnic.org.cn
China-based blogs total 107 million, with more than 42 percent of netizens running a blog, a senior information official said here on Friday. Cai Mingzhao, deputy director of the State Council Information Office, made the comment at the 2nd U.S.-China Internet Industry Forum. The number of blogs was about 40 million just a year ago.
China said the number of Internet users in the country reached about 253 million last month, helping China overtake the United States as the world's biggest Internet market.
China's population of Web users hits 298 million: China's fast-growing population of Internet users has risen to 298 million after passing the United States last year to become the world's largest, a government-sanctioned research group said Tuesday. The latest figure is a 41.9 percent increase over the same period last year, the China Internet Network Information Center said in a report. China's Internet penetration is still low at just 22.6 percent, leaving more room for rapid growth, according to CNNIC. The Pew Internet and American Life Project places U.S. online penetration at 71 percent. China's Internet use is growing at explosive rates despite government efforts to block access to material deemed subversive or pornographic. Regulators are in the middle of a crackdown on sites accused of carrying sexually explicit material. The financial size of China's online market still trails that of the United States, South Korea and other countries. The United States had an estimated 223.1 million Internet users in June, according to Nielsen Online, a research firm. China is preparing to launch third-generation mobile phone service — which supports wireless Web surfing — that is expected to set off a new surge in Internet use.
China Internet Network Information Center (in Chinese): http://www.cnnic.org.cn
China-based blogs total 107 million, with more than 42 percent of netizens running a blog, a senior information official said here on Friday. Cai Mingzhao, deputy director of the State Council Information Office, made the comment at the 2nd U.S.-China Internet Industry Forum. The number of blogs was about 40 million just a year ago.
China said the number of Internet users in the country reached about 253 million last month, helping China overtake the United States as the world's biggest Internet market.
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