ECNEC Approves the Khyber Pass Economic Corridor Opening Window of Regional Connectivity and Trade

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Finance Taimur Saleem Jhagra has said that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the Khyber Pass Economic Corridor (KPEC), including a 47.55 km long two-lane Peshawar-Torkham Motorway.

The project, he said, would boost the trade and increase exports and transform the Khyber district.

The $400 million investment will create 100,000 local jobs and increase local connectivity, said a handout.

“The KPEC links Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia for boosting regional connectivity and trade opportunities,” he explained.

The minister added that this motorway from Peshawar to Torkham would complete Pakistan’s North-South connectivity from Karachi and Gwadar to Central Asia.

He said that better connectivity also transformed the economic viability of several other projects, including the CPEC-sponsored Rashakai Special Economic Zone. The minister said that the project has economic benefits for Peshawar in particular and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in general.

“To transform Pakistan, we need to act bold, act fast and dream big. Let’s work hard to transform it,” the minister concluded.