Chairman National Highway Authority, General Farrukh Javed said mega projects including Lowari tunnel, second Kohat tunnel, Indus Highway's remaining portion and improvement of other roads in Sindh, NWFP, and Balochistan will be initiated so on. He was talking to media persons at Kohat Tunnel during a reception to celebrate 50th anniversary of Pakistan-Japan friendship. The officials of Japan Bank of International Co-operation, JBIC, Embassy of Japan and NHA were present on the occasion.
The NHA chairman said that international tender for consultation of Lowari tunnel issued which will start work from May 28, 2005. He added that Lowari tunnel in Chitral will cost Rs 8 billion and will be completed in four years.
He said NHA has planned to construct second Kohat tunnel to cater the expected traffic needs. In this regard budgetary proposals were sent to the finance ministry for the allocation of necessary funds in PSDP for the feasibility study.
He said that NHA has decided to convert Karachi-Hyderabad Super Highway from four lane to six. He added that other highways will be upgraded from two lanes in Sindh province to four lane which will improve the traffic flow.
He said that so far 800 km of Indus Highway has been completed from Peshawar to D.I. Khan and the work on rest of 400 km will be started soon. He added that 106 km out of 400 km from D.I. Khan to Rajanpur will be started shortly.
He said acceleration of physical work to complete the express way up to Tourkham and improvement of Ghulam Khan road are our priority. Both roads linkages with Afghanistan would lead to expeditious transportation from Karachi, Lahore and Frontier towards Afghanistan and Central Asia.
To a question he said that NHA has generated Rs 3.2 billion revenue per annum while its annual maintenance cost of entire road network is about Rs 7 billion. He added that the upkeep and maintenance of roads is very necessary.
He said, every penny obtained from toll tax is spent for maintenance and repair of highways. Continuing he said, "we want to impose uniform rate of toll tax on Pakistan level."
At the occasion he appreciated Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) assistance for various developmental projects. He added JBIC has played a significant role for development of communications sector, particularly for highway sector, in Pakistan. He said Japanese assisted Kohat tunnel provides for the first time a modern and longest roadway tunnel (1.885m) in Pakistan which has approach road of 28.75 km.
The tunnel and the approach roads (including both north and south approach road located Dara Adam Khel and Kohat Toi) offer an alternative to steep and long Kohat Pass situated between Peshawar and Kohat, reducing traffic congestion, mileage and travel time while at the same time ensuring traffic safety.
The project not only envisaged construction of tunnel facilities but also encompassed a complete system for the operation and maintenance of the tunnel facilities, including the weighbridge operations, emergency services, and rescue operations, to ensure smooth operation of the traffic and safety of the public, he added.
The project has been completed well before the original estimated date of completion through the joint efforts of the National Highway Authority (Project Implementing Agency), Taisei Corporation (Japanese Construction Firm) and Pacific Consultants International (Japanese Consultants that provided construction supervision and technical support).
Briefing the media Colonel Tahseen GM Construction said the Government of Japan provided up to a total amount of 12 618 million Japanese yen divided into three time sliced loans signed in 1994, 2001 and 2003 respectively, for the construction of the Kohat Tunnel Construction Project.
The 'Official Notes' for the third loan amounting up to 3,149 million Japanese yen were exchanged between the two governments on January 24, 2003 ensuring the provision of the final tranche of funds that were required for the completion of the project, Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC), the Japanese implementing agency for overseas economic co-operation and international financial operations (ODA and non-ODA operations) financed the project, he added.
On the occasion Katsuo second secretary embassy of Japan in his remarks said government of Japan has been consistently contributing to the improvement of the Indus Highway by providing loans to the amount of 47.5 billion Japanese yen since 1989.
The improvement of Indus Highway including construction of the Kohat tunnel is expected to strengthen the north-south transport linkage across Pakistan and improve local and national economy by acting as a gateway for the trade between and Central Asian Republics, he added.
JBIC expert Kato said Pakistan-Japan Friendship Tunnel stand out as symbol of strong time tested friendly ties between the people of Japan and Pakistan Japan, being the top bilateral donor throughout the previous decade has contributed more than one trillion Japanese yen to the social economic and infrastructure in Pakistan, he remarked.