PESHAWAR – World Bank has decided to invest $460 million to build a newmotorway from Peshawar to Afghanistan border aimed at bolstering tradebetween the two nations and creating job opportunities in war-tornfederally administered tribal areas (FATA).
The Motorway would further be joined with the Afghanistan’s eastern city ofJalalabad, sources have revealed.
The board of directors of the World Bank is likely to approve the$460-million loan next month for Peshawar-Torkham Expressway Corridorproject, according to World Bank documents. The total cost of the projectis nearly $483 million and the remaining amount will be arranged byPakistan from its own resources.
The major component of the loan, $383.6 million, will be given for theconstruction of the road that will have a total cost of $403 million.Another amount of $72 million will be sanctioned for the development ofmarble and horticulture sectors in FATA. Pakistan plans to build a newfour-lane road from Peshawar to Torkham border, as the existing two-laneroad cannot be modernised due to various constraints.
The World Bank study for the project underlines that improvements insecurity, infrastructure investments, and renewed regional economiccooperation have given new hope for the revival of cross-border trade andbolstering of economic growth.
It adds that the security situation in north-western Pakistan has improveddramatically over the past few years. In 2015, the reported number ofinsurgent attacks fell by almost one half; and in 2016, a further drop of28% in terrorist attacks was reported.
The energy shortfall is gradually being addressed by the establishment ofmicro-hydro power plants, while investments in transportationinfrastructure are addressing bottlenecks to connectivity between Peshawarand the rest of Pakistan.