Islamabad: The Khyber Pass, which has acted for centuries as a gateway for armies and traders crossing between Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent, is to be given a new road straightening its steep inclines and perilous curves.
As one of the world’s most famous strategic routes, it has seen the invading forces of Alexander the Great, the Persians, Mughals, Afghans and British march through en route to conquest.
Yet the winding curves and steep slopes of the pass linking Peshawar to the Afghan border are now considered to be slowing modern-day trade between Pakistan and Central Asia.
The World Bank has agreed to fund a £360 million (Dh1,757 million) project which will place a four-lane expressway at the heart of an economic corridor through the pass.
By reducing the gradient of the route, and easing some of its tightest curves, engineers say they can improve traffic flow and spur trade by cutting transport time and costs.
Truck drivers on the current road alternate between crawling uphill at little more than walking pace, or descending with their foot on the brake as they try to stay in control, said Baher El Hifnawi, the World Bank team leader.
Stretches of the road, which is largely one lane each way, have a gradient of more than 10 per cent.
“The first time I visited, I said: ‘Why are the trucks not moving?’” El Hifnawi said. “I was way back on some hill and I realised it was moving very slowly. Then if they are moving down, their foot is on the brake so that this thing doesn’t go crazy.”
The new road will add to the existing 25-mile route but, by easing slopes and curves, it is hoped it will still halve the journey time.
“We are adding five miles in the new alignment in order to make the new gradients more gradual. They are not going to exceed 6 per cent.”
About 700 trucks a day are thought to pass over the border at Torkham. Fayyaz Shinwari, a 30-year-old truck owner from the town of Landi Kotal, said recent refurbishment of the road had helped, but that it was still prone to floods and many trucks had gone over the side while overtaking.
He told the Telegraph: “In the rainy season there are flash floods and drivers have to wait until the waters have gone down.”
There are hopes the road will become part of a major trading corridor linking Pakistan’s ports with the markets of Central Asia. El Hifnawi said: “This is a major trade route from Karachi, going through Peshawar, going through Torkham, continuing through Afghanistan, going to Jalalabad, and into Kabul, extending all the way to Dushanbe and beyond.”
Pakistani operations against extremist militants had reduced security fears about building the road, he said.
But the success of the project relies on the border being open, as well as the state of the road in Afghanistan. The Torkham border point has often become a flashpoint between the neighbouring states and been closed in response to disputes.
