ISLAMABAD, Jan 19: The Karachi Port Trust will get a loan of $100 million from the Asian Development Bank for construction and operation of the Karachi Harbour Crossing Bridge.

The ADB which has already provided a technical assistance worth $225,000 to KPT for the project is scheduled to approve the project in June this year, official sources said here on Wednesday.

The outcome of the technical assistance was the established bankability of the harbor crossing project. The outputs of assistance were a five-year business plan, 15-year financial projections and bidding documents.

To provide connectivity of Pakistan Deep Water Container Port with main arteries of road network, the Karachi Harbour Crossing Bridge was envisaged having a length of about 14 km and comprises cable stay bridge across the channel.  Two causeways will lead from the bridge; the shorter one connects the Manora-Sandspit strip while the one veering to the right connects the cargo village and industrial park, which in turn would have an extended linkage to Lyari Expressway and Northern By-pass.

The feasibility of the project estimated the cost of project to the tune of about $500 million, and it will take five years to complete the construction of bridge. The Karachi Port administration had carried out a feasibility study through an American consultant, to examine cargo handling, storage, dispatch constraints.