ISLAMABAD, Jan 31: The National Highway Authority (NHA) on Saturday launched a national highway improvement programme (NHIP) to rehabilitate, resurface and improve 856 km-long different sections of Karachi-Lahore-Peshawar national highway costing $261 million.

An agreement was also signed between the National Highway and M/s Husnain Cotex at the NHA headquarters.

Under the agreement, 106 km-long Gujranwala-Kharian section will be resurfaced and strengthened. The project would be launched with the financial assistance of the World Bank.

In addition, two more contracts were also signed. Under the first contract, work for the widening of Waigum Rud Road of Qila Saifullah-Lora Lai-Bewata Road (N-70) will be carried out.

The second contract pertains to rehabilitation and widening of the existing national highway N-55 from D.I.Khan to CRBC. Both the contracts have been awarded to M/s M Ayub and Brothers and M/s Kasteer International respectively.

The contract was signed by the NHA chairman, Maj Gen Furrukh Javed, on behalf of the NHA, while Sheikh Muhammad Yousaf represented Husnain Cotex Ltd, Jehangir Shah signed for M/s M Ayub and Brothers and Mr Khurrum Gul for M/s Kasteer International.

Later on Furrukh Javed told reporters that the aim and objective of the Authority was to provide better road transportation facilities to the people.

He said out of $261 million, the World Bank component included $200 million, while the remaining $61 million would be funded by the government and NHA from the toll revenue.

He said the NHA had also completed Khairabad bridge over Indus River adding that the Authority had also completed some sick projects, which also included 114 km-long Hala-Moro section of national highway, N-5.

"Our endeavour is to provide a coordinated road network in Balochistan province, so that the produces of this province could be taken to other provinces easily," he observed.

The Authority is paying a special attention towards 1,268 km- long Indus Highway. About 800 km-long portion of the highway has been completed with the assistance of Japan, while Asian Development Bank has also expressed willingness to build the remaining part of the highway, he said.

Completion of Grand Kohat Tunnel, the NHA chairman said, had enhanced its importance, while the 243 km-long Lyari-Ormara and 133 km-long Gawadar-Pasni sections of Makran coastal highway had also been completed.

The chairman said 10 km-long Gawadar City Long project had also been completed and expressed the confidence that the Makran Coastal Highway Project would also be completed ahead of schedule by mid this year.

He told the media persons that 52 per cent work on Islamabad- Murree-Muzaffarabad Dual Carriageway Project had been completed, while the remaining work was expected to be completed next year.

The NHA is also handling the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway (M- 1) very carefully and this project would be completed by February 2007, he said, adding that Rashkai-Charsadda and Burhan-Islamabad section of M-1 would be completed by March this year.

He said with the completion of M-1, distance between Peshawar and Lahore would be covered within 5 to 5 1/2 hours.

Furrukh Javed said the 65 km-long Dera Allahyar-Notal Highway had also been completed, while to protect the national highways from overloading, 16 weigh stations had been established, whereas 15 weigh stations were being established at different locations.