ISLAMABAD, Feb 15: Particular attention should be paid on quality construction of highways and bridges to make these more durable, Federal Communications Minister Lt-Gen (Rtd) Javed Ashraf Qazi said.

He was speaking at the opening ceremonies of Rawalpindi Urban Area Development Project and the newly-built Khairabad bridge on River Indus on Rawalpindi-Peshawar highway.

The minister said Rs450 million had been spent on the construction of the bridge. The government, he added, was implementing a countrywide programme for construction and repair of highways. A coordinated highway network plays key role in economic development, he said.

The entire Karachi-Peshawar National Highway is being dualized, he said, adding that widening of Peshawar Road had been completed on priority basis and it would help improve the flow of traffic and boost economic activity.

He said widening and repair of highways would not only help discipline traffic in the cities, but also curtail number of accidents.

The National Highway Authority chairman, Maj-Gen Farrukh Javed, speaking on the occasion, said widening and repairing of Peshawar Road was a longstanding demand of the people of Rawalpindi that had now been fulfilled.

He said the NHA was implementing a comprehensive programme for construction and maintenance of highways throughout the country. He said Rawalpindi Urban Development Project had been completed at the cost of Rs461 million.

The National Logistic Cell (NLC) director general Maj-Gen Syed Haider Javed, briefing the minister.