PESHAWAR: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday approved the highways rehabilitation project proposed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Government that will rehabilitate at least 500 kilometers of highways throughout the province. KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has said that the ADB will provide Rs 15 billion for the rehabilitation, maintenance and highway safety purposes. The ADB and KP Government have reached to agreement during a meeting between a delegation of the bank and Chief Minister KP in Peshawar. The Pakistan Provincial Transportation Authority (PPTA) will carry out a due diligence of the detailed design carried out by Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority (PKHA) for the entire provincial highways and will complete technical, economic, financial, social, and environmental due diligence in accordance with ADB’s requirements for the 500 km of provincial highways to be financed. The PPTA will also assist the executing agency in developing the required documentation for country resource allocation, including the rehabilitation project of PKHA for submission to the Planning Commission. The estimated cost of each package will be prepared by the PPTA consultant. Praising the continued support by the ADB, CM Khattak said that the bank was involved in assisting KP in rehabilitation, reconstruction and building highways and roads for many years. “The ADB funds to improve mass transit ability and accessibility are huge support to the PKHA and the KP province. He informed that the key segment of the improvement will be the coordination to upgrade provincial support to bring enhancement in the highways. “The aim of KP government is to enhance support to improve the strength and capacity of these highways,” Pervez Khattak said. The KP government will provide 15 percent of the total funds for the rehabilitation project. CM Khattak said PKHA will work in assistance with PPTA and ADB to complete the projects in due time. “Provincial government has the capacity to spend funds on provincial development projects. Better highways can lead our business towards success,” he stated. Development of women-specific transport: The Embassy of Japan and Country Office of the United Nations Office for Project Service (UNOPS) in Pakistan signed a pilot project aimed at the development of women-specific transport service in selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The signing ceremony was attended by high officials from the Economic Affairs Division, Planning Commission of Pakistan and Department of Transport KP along with UN Resident Coordinator and heads of other UN agencies and representatives of foreign missions and donor agencies. The envisaged project is to be implemented by UNOPS Pakistan in partnership with the KP Transport Department and UN Women through the financial support of the Japanese Government, which is contributing 191 million JPY ($1.79 million) for the duration of the project. In his opening address, UN Resident Coordinator Neil Buhne underlined that the fear of harassment women face each day brings down their productivity. Hence the introduction of ‘Women Bus Service’ is an initiative taken to make women feel safe, secure and comfortable when traveling. “The proposed buses and project aim to protect women during travel and reduce the risk of being a potential victim,” Buhne explained. “The project will pilot 14 buses in 3 districts of KP, including Peshawar, Mardan and Abbottabad”, Buhne maintained.