Pakistan : Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Corridor Development Investment Program

Transport / Road transport (non-urban)

The proposed multitranche financing facility (MFF) will enhance regional connectivity and trade via the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Corridors in Pakistan by improving the efficiency for road traffic along the CAREC Corridors. For the purpose, the proposed MFF will rehabilitate and upgrade the road network constituting the CAREC Corridors.

In 2011, Pakistan joined the CAREC Program. Pakistan's transport corridors offer the shortest route to the sea for landlocked Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Xinjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Pakistan's accession to the CAREC will enable subregions in Asia and Europe to be virtually integrated and seamlessly connected from East Asia through South Asia and Central Asia to Europe. In 2013, the CAREC Transport Corridors were extended to Pakistan to provide Afghanistan, Central Asia, and PRC with connection to Gwadar and Karachi port at the Arabian Sea. The CAREC Transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy 2020 endorsed by the CAREC ministers at the 12th Ministerial conference in 2013 proposes $5.6 billion of investment projects to build the extended CAREC corridors in Pakistan.

In the context of Afghanistan's exploiting markets in South and Southeast Asia for their agricultural products, PRC's exploring access to the Arabian Sea, and India's pursuing connection to Central Asia, all through Pakistan, completing the CAREC corridors and serving the needs of surrounding countries will benefit Pakistan not only for the growth of economy and trade but also for deepened regional integration and resultant stable geopolitics, and ultimately help achieve the vision of the CAREC. ADB's continuing engagement in Pakistan's pursuing the CAREC corridor development will speed up its achievement and enable the benefits of improved regional integration to be shared by surrounding countries.

The main stakeholders of the project include public institution (Ministry of Communication, National Highway Authority, Ministry of Trade and Commerce and local government departments with other law enforcing agencies like Motorways and Highways Police) and project beneficiaries including business community and traders, freight forwarders, transport operators as well as passengers and the local community having their assets landed and non-landed in project corridor and affected persons.

Focus group discussions, workshops, community mobilization, in-depth interviews and consultations conducted for discussion on the environment and social safeguard issues, land acquisition and resettlement planning and implementation documentation, potential needs of the community and other social-related issues such as gender, HIV/AIDs, human trafficking, child labor etc.

During project implementation, project affected people will be key stakeholders to pay utmost attention to. The implementation of the land acquisition resettlement plan will be closely coordinated with the representatives of the affected communities and their grievances will be heard through the grievance redress mechanism.

Community mobilization and in-depth interviews and consultations were conducted on other social safeguard issues such as gender, HIV/AIDs, human trafficking, child labor etc.