ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and World Bank has signed loan agreement worth over406 million dollars for Khyber Pass Economic Corridor Project.
Minister for Economic Affairs, Muhammad Hammad Azhar, witnessed the signingceremony held in Islamabad today.
The project aims to construct 48km long 4-Lane, dual carriageway high-speedaccess controlled motorway, from Peshawar to Torkham.
The global integration of South and Central Asia is intertwined with theKhyber Pass and has served as the key node in trade for hundreds of years.
The expressway between Peshawar and Kabul through the Khyber Passrepresents a section of Corridors 5 and 6 of the Central Asia RegionalEconomic Cooperation.
Corridor 5, which runs through Pakistan, has the potential to provide theshortest link between the landlocked countries of Afghanistan, Tajikistan,Uzbekistan and the Arabian Sea.
Corridor 6 provides access to Europe, Middle East and Russia. The KPEC willfinance Peshawar-Torkham expressway portion of Corridor-5.
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The Peshawar-Torkham expressway will reduce transit time and costs forregional and international trade transiting the Khyber Pass and extend tillKarachi – Lahore – Islamabad – Peshawar Trans-Pakistan Expressway System.
It will form as an integral part of the planned Peshawar – Kabul – DushanbeMotorway.
The improved regional connectivity through this corridor will not onlyfacilitate the commercial traffic and expand economic activities betweenPakistan and Afghanistan but also promote private sector development alongthe corridor. It is expected to generate up to 100,000 new jobs in KhyberPakhtunkhwa.
Minister for Economic Affairs highlighted that today’s signing of thisimportant project indicates resolve of the World Bank to support thedevelopment agenda of the present government.
Country Director World Bank Patchamuthu Illangovanwhile appreciating thereform initiatives of the current government, committed to extend possiblefacilitation and financial support to the government in its efforts topromote economic activities in the country and to put the economy back ontrack.
