ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Pakistan today signed a loan agreement for $75 million to widen and upgrade 42 kilometers (km) of the busy Mardan Swabi road in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Secretary EAD, Noor Ahmed and Secretary, Communication & Works Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muhammad Shahab Khattak along with the Country Director Asian Development Bank, Ms. Xiaohong Yang signed the loan agreement.
The dualization of Mardan-Swabi road and rehabilitation of provincial highways shall complement and enhance economic mobility of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as well as Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Corridor.
Further, the additional financing will improve and complement the ongoing KP Provincial Roads Improvement Project that aims at rehabilitating 214 Kms of provincial highway network to improve the performance of roads and achieve higher service value for the province.
The project will be executed by adopting relevant provincial highway standards, road safety improvements, and climate resilience features to withstand damage and disruption from natural disasters. In addition, the investment would strengthen the institutional capacity of C&W Department, GoKP on road management through the development of KP road network master plan.
