ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $235 million loan to help Pakistan upgrade a national highway in the southern region that is crucial for regional connectivity, the bank announced in a statement on Thursday.
Pakistan has built several roads in recent years under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative to improve the network of intercity highways, hoping that the infrastructure development projects would help satisfy its ambition to tap regional markets through increased physical connectivity.
Several multilateral banks have also supported Pakistan’s endeavor in the last decade, and the ADB decision to fund the expansion of the 222-kilometer Shikarpur-Rajanpur stretch of Indus Highway from two- to four-lane carriageway is part of the same process.
“This project will increase the capacity of a busy highway section that passes through populous economic centers in Sindh and Punjab provinces,” said ADB Transport Specialist Rika Idei in the statement.
She added it would also address “key road safety, climate resilience, and gender-specific needs to ensure users can travel safely, smoothly, and comfortably.”
The Indus Highway, which is also known as N55, is part of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Corridor 5 which plans to link the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in southern Pakistan with national and international economic centers to the north.
Pakistan has long been struggling to get access to the markets of landlocked Central Asian States through Afghanistan.
The ADB said the project would facilitate the regional movement of goods and people, adding it would also construct bus stops, emergency response centers, and traffic police facilities to ensure road safety enforcement and efficient post-crash response.
It added the project would also help strengthen the capacity of the National Highway Authority (NHA) by supporting a five-year training program which was prepared with assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Pakistan is a member of the CAREC Program, a partnership of 11 countries including Afghanistan, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia to promote economic growth and sustainable development through regional cooperation.
It is supported by development partners, including the ADB, which serves as the secretariat for the CAREC Program.
Since the program’s inception in 2001 until December 2020, the CAREC has mobilized $39.34 billion in investments that have helped establish multimodal transportation networks, increased energy trade and security, facilitated free movement of people and freight, and laid the groundwork for economic corridor development.
