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ISLAMABAD: Some Rs 122.95 billion are needed to repair national highways badly damaged due to overloaded vehicles carrying supplies for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) forces in Afghanistan, said a source in the Ministry of Communications on Wednesday.
Referring to the government’s annual condition survey 2011, the source said that various routes comprising 4046 km used as Nato supply lines had suffered 26 per cent losses. According to the survey, on an average 26 per cent of roads are in dilapidated conditions and need Rs122 billion for repairs.
The routes used for Nato supply before suspension in November last included Karachi-Khuzdar-Quetta-Chaman (813 km); Karachi- Hyderabad (136 km); Ketri-Shikarpor-DG Khan-Kohat-Peshawar (1265 km), Karachi-Thatta-Hyderabad-Lahore (1272 km); Lahore-Islamabad (350 km); Islamabad-Peshawar-Torkham (204 km).
The condition of these roads has considerably deteriorated due to frequent usage by overloaded vehicles of the Nato forces engaged in Afghanistan.
This issue, he said, has already been highlighted at various forums with the proposal to claim the damages from Nato forces.
It is worth mentioning that the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS), in its recommendations for future engagement with the Nato, has recommended significantly high toll rates on these routes.
