PESHAWAR, Jan 18: The NWFP government will establish a fund to look after the road network in the province, officials said here on Thursday. The fund, to be managed by a board comprising representatives of provincial departments and road users, will be used for preservation and development of road assets of the province.

The establishment of the road maintenance fund and the board had been proposed under provincial policy reforms and it was an institutional strengthening component of an Asian Development Bank-funded project.

The ADB is financing the NWFP Road Sector Development and Sub-Regional Connectivity Project under which more than 700km rural access roads and 160km provincial and district highways will be repaired by year 2010.

The road maintenance fund and other areas covered under the component were discussed at a seminar organised on Thursday by the Frontier Highways Authority in collaboration with Sheladia Associates Inc. (USA).

Road transport professionals, private sector representatives and government officials recommended strengthening institutions and introducing policy reforms in the road sector.

NWFP additional chief secretary Ghulam Dastgeer Akhtar said the communication sector played an important role in socio-economic development of the province.

He believed that allocation of huge funds for constructing roads alone could not ensure sustainable development. “We have to establish institutions and strengthen their capacity to overcome problems we are facing today,” he added.

Mr Akhtar said that due to resource constraints, the provincial government allocated Rs160 million a year for maintenance of the existing road network, which was not sufficient.

He maintained that keeping a huge road infrastructure in working condition was an uphill task and the government alone could not do it, adding that road users would have to come forward and help maintain the road network.

Referring to the proposed road maintenance fund and the board, he suggested that the bodies should be autonomous so that the road infrastructure could be improved on the basis of public-private partnership.

He also said there was a need for skill development of professionals related with the sector.

Frontier Highways Authority managing director Habib Ali, Sheladia Associates Inc. country director Salim Baz Khan and project manager Jose C. Horta also spoke on the occasion.