Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar on Thursday said the government has total allocation of Rs 118.4 billion for road safety to enhance the country’s road infrastructure in Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for FY2023.
The Finance Minister said the government is also acquainted with this fact and included 50 projects in the National Highway Authority (NHA) portfolio in PSDP for CFY2023 with a total allocation of Rs 118.4 billion to provide a safe, modern and efficient transportation system in the country.
He said this while addressing the closing ceremony of ‘International Road Safety Conference for Parliamentarians’ here in a local hotel.
Ishaq Dar said that till FY2022, the total vehicles on roads were estimated at 34.2 million which are increasing rapidly as the middle class is growing in the country.
He informed that Pakistan’s current road infrastructure comprised a total 500,750 kms comprising of Expressway 428 kms, Highways 32097, Local Roads 373525, Metro Roads 146, Motorways 2816 and Primary and Secondary Road 92153 Kms respectively.
He said the PML (N) Government in its previous tenures, focused on the key infrastructure development projects and M2 Lahore-Islamabad Motorway was initiated in early 1990’s by the PML(N) Government, which in its subsequent tenures expanded phenomenally throughout this country and later included under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
This infrastructure development now forms the lifeline of Pakistan’s road infrastructure. It has enhanced the quality and length of roads considering the future needs of the country and provided much needed road travel comfort leading to significant road safety, he said.
He said that now, the present PDM coalition government, including PML-N is again working on a fast track to enhance the length and quality of the roads in the country to facilitate the economic development of the country.
It is also actively pursuing effective enforcement of road safety laws to ensure the accident free traffic flow, he added.
The Minister said that as parliamentarians, it was our duty to find necessary solutions to improve road safety. We must act now and fast, at the local and global level, he said.
The minister said that we must introduce road safety measures with a goal to reduce road fatalities and serious injuries by 50 percent by the year 2030, being the targets established by the United Nation Global Action Plan on Road Safety.—APP
