PESHAWAR, Nov 1: The work on the Rs1 billion Torkham-Jalalabad highway project in Afghanistan would soon start after the National Highway Authority (NHA) recently awarded its contract to the Lahore based M/S ECO-West Construction Firm.

Official sources told Dawn that the construction of the 70-kilometre long highway would be Pakistan’s biggest ever investment inside the war-ravaged country.

Following the fall of Taliban government, Islamabad had pledged $100 million assistance for the post-war reconstruction in Afghanistan.

Under the package Islamabad has already provided wheat and other food items to Kabul.

The officials said the construction of the highway would reduce travel time between Peshawar and Jalalabad.

It is learnt that the NHA will impose toll tax on the Peshawar-Torkham highway after the rehabilitation of the road.

An official said that the toll tax would be levied only on vehicles carrying export goods. Local vehicles plying in the tribal area would be exempted from the tax, they added.

The official said that after the rehabilitation of Takhta Baig bridge in Jamrud tehsil of the Khyber Agency toll plaza would be set up to generate revenue.

He said that the NHA was also looking for donors to construct Peshawar-Torkham Express Way - an ambitious project that aims to convert the single lane dilapidated road into a dual carriage way.

A Japanese company would undertake design of the Express Way while the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) would finance the project.

The bank also provided financial assistance for the construction of Kohat tunnel, the longest subway of the country.