U.S. Inaugurates $25 Million Peshawar Ring Road

Peshawar, April 27, 2010 – U.S. Ambassador Anne W. Patterson, President Asif Ali Zardari and Provincial Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani unveil a plaque during the ground-breaking ceremony for the reconstruction of a section of the Peshawar Ring Road.

April 27, 2010

Peshawar - At a ceremony today in Peshawar, Ambassador Anne W. Patterson joined Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti in inaugurating a project to reconstruct 25 kilometers of the Peshawar Southern By-Pass (Ring Road).  The U.S. financed project will provide Rs. 2.10 billion ($25,000,000) in upgrades to the important provincial thoroughfare for the purpose of strengthening security and increasing economic development.

The Ring Road will be widened and improved from two lanes to three lanes, including construction of service roads, green belts, center medians and drainage on both sides.  The refurbished road will also include a bypass of the Hayatabad residential area and a transit link to the Matani bypass road that the United States is also currently supporting.

"The new Ring Road will ease traffic between Charsadda and Hayatabad, improve security, and generate greater trade opportunities for the citizens of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas," said Ambassador Anne Patterson.

The Ring Road upgrade is part of a broader effort to construct and rehabilitate roads across KPk and the FATA.  Over the past twenty years, the U.S. has spent Rs. 4 billion ($60 million) to construct over 900 kilometers of road in KPk and FATA.