Islamabad: Pakistan Government has planned to construct a 2,326km-roads in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) aiming at interconnecting almost all the tribal agencies with the Frontier Regions (FR).
The planned roads network would not only inter connect the tribal agencies as well as FRs but also provide a link to national highways, well placed sources informed.
According to the sources, the massive roads construction plans are estimated to cost Rs 57.63 billion or $ 678m. The plans anticipate that implementation in letter and spirit would trigger development in the areas that would eventually facilitate trade with Afghanistan, the sources added.
The government was trying to improve the inter-connectivity of seven Pakistani tribal agencies as well as the semi-tribal areas called Frontier Regions and provide. These roads projects would also provide an alternative route Afghanistan that would reduces the truck traffic burden on existing passing roads by Peshawar, the sources said.
The government planned 170 projects in different areas of the agency, which have 0.21 to 0.23 km (per sq km of land) road density in the areas, and want to improve it up to 0.36 km by constructing some new roads, an official who was not allowed to speak to media said.
The projects include a 644 km expressway from Khar to Wana and a 30 km highway from Mattani to Takht Baig. The Mattani-Thakht Baig road would also benefit the Afghans. The landlocked Afghanistan’s trade depends mostly on the quality of routes to and from Pakistan; it has no other access to the Arabian Sea.
Planners envision a new Miranshah-Dattakheil-Malagori road in North Waziristan and 201 new reinforced cement concrete bridges.
They also intend to upgrade 1,000 km of existing roads, such as the Murtaza-Kajori Katch-Tanai road and the Jandola-Sararogha-Makeen road in South Waziristan.
Those trying to boost FATA’s economy know the grim statistics. Only 3.1 percent of the 3.3 million inhabitants live in towns. The literacy rate is 17.4 percent, and there is only one hospital bed for every 2,179 residents.
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