Rs 500b being spent on mega road projects
Islamabad, October 27: National Highway Authority (NHA) will spend Rs 500 billion on construction of National Trade Corridor (NTC), upgradation of Karakoram Highway (KKH) and providing connectivity to Gwadar Port by end of 2010. Chairman NHA Altaf Ahmed Chaudhry told APP in a chat here Sunday that the authority would spend Rs 200 billion on construction and upgradation of motorways and expressways as part of NTC to provide link to Afghanistan and Central Asian countries. T
he NTC will link upper parts of the country in the North with ports in the South to reduce travel time and fuel cost by improving existing road network, N-5, N-55 and introducing new motorways, M-4, M-5, M-6, M-7, M-8, M-9. On completion of the road development network, he said, the travel time from Peshawar to Karachi would be reduced by 50 percent, traffic accidents by 70 percent and road losses would be reduced to the tune of $1.5 billion per annum. To a question he said widening and rehabilitation of Hasanabdal-Abbottabad-Thakot-Gilgit-Khunjerab (KKH) Highway (N-35 also known as Karakoram Highway (KKH) was one of the priorities of the NHA. He said that Rs 45 billion are being spent on Upgradation of Raikot-Khunjerab section of the KKH. He said work on Mansehra-Sazin section of N-35 would start in a couple of months. After rehabilitation and expansion of KKH, which was 8th wonder of the world China, Kazakhstan and Kyrghazistan could export their goods through Gwadar ports. He said that 140 km section of KKH would submerge in Basha dam water and new road would be constructed on new alignment by 2015.
Courtesy: APP
