June 13, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 08, 1429

RAWALPINDI, June 12: As road density in Pakistan is officially admitted to be low and compares unfavourably with other South Asian countries, the federal government plans to execute 50 mega projects for provision of better highways, expressways and motorways throughout the country during the next few years.

Some of the planned initiatives documented in the economic survey include: construction of major motorways, modernisation of trucking fleet with newer, more efficient, and environment friendly vehicles; promotion of industrial clusters along highways/motorways; and establishment of warehouses by the private-sector along the network.

Currently, the total road network in the country is about 260,000 kilometres of which around 60 per cent is paved. Road density is 0.32 km per square km, which is low and compares unfavourably with other South Asian countries (Bangladesh 1.7, Sri Lanka 1.5 and India 1).

The government plans to generate and mobilise all possible resources to double road density to 0.64 km per square km.

The National Highway Authority (NHA) is also implementing a major ‘National Highway Improvement Programme (NHIP)’ in phases at a cost of Rs20.25 billion. Out of a total length of 836km to be reconstructed and rehabilitated, work on 380km has been completed.

Out of the remaining, 268km is expected to be completed by the end of this year, while the remaining 188km by June 2009, the survey says.

Total length of roads, which were 229,595km in 1996-97, increased to 264,853km by 2007-08 — an increase of 15.4 per cent. During the outgoing fiscal year, the length of the high typed road network increased by 3.2 per cent but the length of the low type road network declined by 2.8 per cent.

The present highway network is under strain because of rising traffic flow and a slow pace of increase in capacity. Consolidation, preservation and improvement of the existing highways are needed on an urgent basis. A gradual extension of the network is also equally important to develop remote areas and to better connect major economic and social centres of Pakistan, according to the survey.

The NHA’s portfolio cost is Rs705.48 billion with a ‘throw- forward’ of Rs570.84 billion. The ratio of throw-forward to annual allocation is 3:1, meaning that at current funding level of Rs29 billion; approximately three years are needed to complete the ongoing portfolio.

Due to limited fiscal space and an increase in yearly allocation being rather unlikely, NHA is looking towards new and innovative methods of financing, and in this regard a new business plan is currently under finalisation for approval by the government.

This fact has been recognised by UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) by designating different routes passing through various Asian countries as the Asian Highway Network (AHN). A number of inter-provincial national highways of Pakistan are a component of AHN.