The US on Monday announced that it will provide upto $70 million for the reconstruction of Peshawar-Torkham Highway, frequently used by overloaded containers of Nato/ISAF/US transit freight, an amount that is $1393.66 million less than requested by the Ministry of Communications.
The amount of US $70 million is considerably less than the estimated cost of $1463.66 million, which the Ministry of Communication is reportedly seeking from the US with the objective of improving and rehabilitating the following road sections: Peshawar to Torkham (N-5) and Kalat-Quetta-Chaman (N-25). The Ministry maintains that the condition of the roads is very poor.
Both the roads- Peshawar to Torkham (N-5) and Kalat-Quetta-Chaman (N-25), have been frequently used by heavy Nato containers for the last several years for supplying goods and other heavy machineries to ISAF/Nato and US forces in Afghanistan which has badly damaged the entire road network, said an official of the ministry. According to US Embassy, the project will be supported through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and managed by the FATA Secretariat and monitored by the National Highway Authority (NHA).
"For centuries, the Peshawar to Torkham route has served as the most famous trade path between Pakistan and Afghanistan," said USAID Mission Director Jock Conly, adding that reconstruction of the highway will not only boost trade between the two countries but also improve their economies by serving as the trade-gateway to the Central Asian states.
The 46 km Peshawar-Torkham road is part of Pakistan's N-5 highway (identified by the NHA as Grand Trunk [G.T.] Road). It was originally built by Emperor Sher Shah of Sur in the 16th century and remains the shortest route to Afghanistan and the Central Asian states.
Rian Harris, spokesperson of the Embassy, said that the current road's outdated design has sustained substantial wear and the new design will feature improved specifications that will widen the roadbed, straighten out sharp turns, and reduce steep gradients. The plans also include rebuilding bridges and culverts to make it an all-weather road, he said.
He said that the road complements a network of roads that the US government has supported the government of Pakistan to rebuild. Since October 2009, he said that the United States has helped build over 226 km of roads in FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the recently inaugurated Tank-Makin and Kaur-Wana roads in South Waziristan. "The Peshawar-Torkham Highway and other ongoing US-funded road projects will add over 400 km of additional roads in the coming years", the spokesman added.