A National Highway Authority meeting has revealed that it has mapped out a gigantic network project to build new roads costing Rs 3.12 trillion to speed up transportation of goods from the Karachi, Ormara, Bin Qasim and Gwadar Ports to the country's upper regions linking the four provinces through a "national trade corridor".
Highway Chairman Imtiaz Ahmed told Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool, who was also present at the meeting at the governors' house, that his authority would build longer and wider motorways and expressways in the next five years better than those built in the past 15 years.
The authority has launched reconstruction work of 11,485-kilometre long roads under Vision-2030 to improve the road infrastructure and that the Punjab would get 2,669-kilometre long roads. The authority will also invest in promoting civil engineering research work in various universities in the Punjab and set up road-testing laboratories.
Maqbool, being happy over the projects, said the transit trade expenses would decrease reducing the needed cost of any business in Pakistan. He said he hoped this network would be linked with the existing Asian Highway Network of the neighbouring countries, enhancing the country's geo-strategic significance.
The meeting then reviewed a proposal to give powers to the motorway police to remove encroachments on national highways on the pattern of the Punjab Highway Patrolling Police.
The meeting also drew Punjab Chief Secretary Salman Siddique, P&D Chairman Suleman Ghani and Senior Member Board of Revenue Safdar Javed Syed, secretaries of C&W and finance and regional officials of the National Highway Authority.