Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, chaired a meeting on the Integrated Transit Trade Management System (ITTMS) project, at the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday, to review the progress on the development of border crossing complexes at Torkham and Chaman.
Finance Secretary, Chairman FBR, Quartermaster General of Pakistan Army, Country Director Asian Development Bank (ADB), DG NLC, Project Director ITTMS at FBR, and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, ADB, and Infrastructure Project Development Facility participated in the meeting.
The Finance Minister was briefed on the progress of the project since the previous meeting, chaired by the Finance Minister in June 2017 before Eid-ul-Fitr. DG NLC briefed the meeting on the technical aspects and arrangements of the project, as NLC is responsible for the civil works of the project. Country Director ADB said that ADB considers ITTMS as an important project, and expressed keenness on the part of ADB to work as a team with all stakeholders on the project.
The Finance Minister encouraged FBR, NLC, ADB and IPDF to ensure effective coordination in order to successfully implement the project in a timely and efficient matter. He emphasized the strategic importance of the project from both a security and trade point of view. He directed that the engineering design of the project at the two sites may be completed expeditiously, and inclusion of all essential facilities must be ensured, keeping in view the available financial resources for the project. He said that, once completed, the project will enable significant reduction in processing times at the border crossing points. The Finance Minister assured his full assistance and support in order to ensure completion of the project within the scheduled timelines.
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