Road reconstruction: World Bank approves $8m grant for Swat

Improved access to markets will help residents to sell their produce.

ISLAMABAD:

The World Bank on Wednesday approved a grant of $8 million to reconstruct roads in Swat district aimed at improving mobility of 300,000 residents.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Balochistan Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) has approved the grant to help reconstruct a 10.5-kilometre stretch of roads from Kanju to Sharif Abad in Swat district.

The emergency roads recovery project (ERRP) will rehabilitate prioritised damaged roads and bridges, make them fully operational in all weather conditions and help improve access and mobility for about 300,000 residents, said a WB press release.

Once completed, the improved roads will allow for a smooth traffic flow leading to reduced vehicle operating costs and travel time for beneficiaries, it added.

“The militancy crisis of 2009 badly damaged transport networks and disrupted economic growth for the region,” said Rachid Benmessaoud, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan. “Through MDTF support, not only will this 10.5km stretch of road become an all-weather passageway, but it will also help improve access of residents to markets to sell their produce, enhance trade and increase economic activity in the project area.”

ERRP will be implemented by Frontier Highway Authority (FHA) and consists of two components. The first, larger component relates to the reconstruction and widening of about 10.5 kilometres of highway, including related structures, from Sharif Abad to Kanju. The second, smaller component deals with project supervision and environmental and social safeguards oversight.

The overall objective of MDTF is to support reconstruction and reduce the potential for renewed conflict in K-P, Fata and Balochistan.



Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2011.