Govt inks loan deal with EXIM bank

ISLAMABAD: Noor Ahmed, secretary, Economic Affairs Division, and Shin Deong-yong, senior executive director of EXIM Bank, have signed a loan agreement of $49.045 million for Section-I of Chakdara–Timargarah Road (N-45) with the EXIM Bank of Korea under the Economic Cooperation Development Fund.

Under this financing agreement, the National Highway Authority (NHA) will improve and widen 38.85km of Chakdara–Timargara Section-I (N-45).

The total cost of the project is $60.740 million, of which Korean EXIM Bank has committed to provide $49.045 million as soft loan, while the government of Pakistan will provide $11.695 million.

NHA, Ministry of Communications is the Executing Agency for the project. The project aims at improving the connectivity by widening and rehabilitating the existing road and enhance the effective use of N–45.

It will also help promote trade with the neighbouring Central Asian countries by improving major arterial roads and bridges in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.