ADB okays $235m for Shikarpur-Rajanpur road

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.