Transport: Roads our top priority, Michael

LAHORE: The government has set aside Rs36 billion for the repair and expansion of the road network in the province, said Finance Minister Kamran Michael. The minister told APP on Saturday that the repair and reconstruction of roads and bridges damaged by last year’s floods was a top priority. The government, he said, was also planning a farm-to-market road project costing Rs2 billion. Michael said that 91 per cent of passengers and 96 per cent of freight in Punjab were transported by road. The province had over 80,000 kilometres of road by the end of 2010. Demand for road transport grew by 7 to 8 per cent per year over the last decade.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2011.