Shahbaz Sharif says road construction and rehabilitation programme worth Rs 150b would be ‘biggest in Pakistan’s history’
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday approved a three-year ‘Khadim-e-Punjab Rural Roads Programme’ worth Rs 150 billion for construction and rehabilitation of roads in rural areas of the province.
Addressing a high-level meeting, Sharif said that in the first phase 255 roads of an accumulative length of 2,100 kilometres would be constructed and rehabilitated at a cost of Rs 15 billion during the current financial year, and all the roads would be carpeted 12 feet wide. The phased-wise programme would begin from next month, he added.
The chief minister termed the programme as biggest in Pakistan’s history that would bring a revolution in rural economy. He said that agri economy would flourish speedily due to easy approaching roads infrastructure. The programme would also ensure availability of job opportunities and speedy travelling facilities to rural people, he added.
He said that like previous projects, transparency would also be ensured in Khadim-e-Punjab Rural Roads Programme and a third-party audit would be compulsory to maintain roads’ standard.
