MULTAN: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will inaugurate the state-of-art steel bridge in the mountainous area of N-70 near Fort Munro in April, Dawn has learnt.

The bridge is the part of 32.6-kilometre portion of 450 kilometre long N-70 starting from Bahawalpur Chowk in Multan and concluding at Qila Saifullah in Balochistan.

The toughest portion of N-70 -- from Rakhi Gaaj to Bewata -- has been constructed with the financial aid of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica). The total cost of the project is Rs23.5 billion, of which Jica’s grant is Rs13.5 billion.

“The bridge is 11.6 kilometer long and is open for traffic, however, a formal inauguration ceremony of the bridge and road will take place in April and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will inaugurate it,” First Secretary and Deputy Head of Economic and Development Section at the Embassy of Japan Teruki Hanazawa told this correspondent.

He said that although the date of inauguration had yet to be decided but the arrangements were underway for a grand ceremony.

N-70 is a main artery connecting Punjab and Balochistan and the section near Fort Munro is marked with steep slopes and curves.

“Japan provided concessional loan (interest rate at 0.2 percent with repayment period of 40 years with 10 years grace period) worth $142 million to improve this section of N-70,” he said.

The construction started in 2016 where Japan’s advanced technology was utilized such as box-shaped grinders made of maintenance free steel for 75 years and special embankment wall using light and strong materials.

The diplomat said that a single-truck road has been expanded to double-truck while sharp curves, with a radius of eight meters, have been enlarged to 30 meters.

Now, heavy weight trailers can travel with over 40 kilometer per hour speed.

The Japanese embassy arranged a tour of reporters to two of the projects in Dera Ghazi Khan and Muzaffargarh which have been completed with the financial assistance of Japan.

An inauguration ceremony of a school project was held in Chowk Godar in Muzaffargarh which is being running by an NGO.

“The construction of the school started in 2017 and the funds for the project were provided by the Japan’s Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP). The project cost is $88,355,” GGP consultant Naoka Kogure said.

The building can accommodate 283 students.

She said that there was an increase of 23 percent in students’ enrollment after the completing of the project and 150 students, of 283, were females.

The project has arranged desks and chairs for classrooms. Earlier, students would sit on the ground.

“In addition, in the adjacent vocational training class of the school, 10 girls are learning tailoring and embroidery while so far 150 female students have completed the vocational training classes since 2012. The project has supported not only the local children to study in a better environment but also women to participate in the local economy,” she added.

Mr Hanazawa said that the government of Japan provided the financial assistance of $82.12 million to Pakistan in 2019 for health, disaster management, agriculture and water supply.

Pakistan is the largest recipient of Japan’s grant aid among the seven South Asian nations.

Published in Dawn, February 29th, 2020