ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday approved a $235 million loan to upgrade a national highway considered crucial to regional connectivity and strengthen the government’s capacity to improve operation and maintenance of the highway network.

The project will expand the 222km Shikarpur-Rajanpur section of the National Highway-55 (N55) from two lanes into a four-lane carriageway.

N55 is part of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (Carec) Corridor-5 which links the ports of Karachi and Gwadar with national and international economic centres to the north.

The loan is the second tranche of a multi-tranche financing facility designed to provide technical and financial assistance to upgrade N55 and enhance the capacity of the National Highway Authority (NHA). The first tranche of $180 million was approved in September 2017 and financed the improvement of three sections totaling 143 km in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

“This project will increase the capacity of a busy highway section that passes through populous economic centres in Sindh and Punjab provinces,” said ADB Transport Specialist Rika Idei. “The project addresses key road safety, climate resilience, and gender-specific needs to ensure users can travel safely, smoothly, and comfortably. This will facilitate the regional movement of goods and people, and support Pakistan’s economic recovery from Covid-19.”

The project will construct bus stops, emergency response centers, and traffic police facilities to ensure road safety enforcement and efficient post-crash response. Bus stops and emergency response centres will have gender-separated facilities and rest spaces for various users, including the elderly, women, children, and persons with disabilities.