Transport and Communications
Chapter 14 TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS A well functioning Transport and communication I. TRANSPORT system is a critical pre-requisite for a country’s i. Road Transport development. Investment in the infrastructure directly affects economic growth through many Road transport is the backbone of Pakistan’s changes such as allowing producers to find the transport system, accounting for 90 percent of best markets for their goods, reducing national passenger traffic and 96 percent of freight transportation time and cost and generating movement. Over the past ten years, road traffic – employment opportunity. In addition, efficient both passenger and freight – has grown much transport and communication systems also have faster than the country’s economic growth. The network effects and allow adoption of latest 10,849 km long National Highway and Motorway production techniques such as just-in time network contributes 4.2 percent of the total road manufacturing. network. They carry 90 percent of Pakistan’s total traffic. Infrastructure development has been a priority area for Pakistan as evidenced by a number of Pakistan, with about 156 million people, has a projects completed or in progress. Major reasonably developed transport system. However, infrastructure projects completed during the last when compared with other developed and seven years include: Islamabad-Lahore Motorway developing countries, the road density of Pakistan (M-2), Makran Costal Highway, Nauttal-Sibi is low. This fact is documented in Fig-14.1. A section including Sibi Bypass, Dera Allah Yar- commonly used indicator for development of the Nauttal Section, Khajuri-Bewata Section N-70, road system is road density (total length of road / Kohat Tunnel and Access Roads, Mansehar-Naran total area), which is often used as an index of Section, Karachi Northern Bypass, Qazi Ahmed & prosperity, economic activity and development.
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