ISLAMABAD - The World Bank has approved US $25 million loan to help Pakistan improve its trade and transport logistics, said a press statement issued on Wednesday. According to the statement, the loan is meant for the Second Trade and Transport Facilitation Project, which would provide technical advisory services to help implement the National Trade Corridor Improvement Programme (NTCIP), a comprehensive government plan designed to significantly cut the cost and time in exporting and importing goods. The programme encompasses services, infrastructure, reforms and investments in highways, trucking, ports and maritime transport, air transport, railways and trade facilitation. Over the past decade, the government of Pakistan has done much to improve its trade procedures and logistics services, said Yusupha Crookes, the World Bank Country Director for Pakistan. Further improvements will help boost trade, strengthen economic growth and ultimately reduce poverty. Strong implementation of the NTCIP is vital to bring the quality of transport services to the international standards. This project will provide an important analytical foundation necessary to execute the reforms agenda and investments for this programme, the statement said. The objective of the loan is to make road transport services faster and more reliable to allow exporters meet short deadlines, usually given by the international buyers, help railways regain its competitiveness against road transportation, reduce port costs, facilitate customs procedures and make air transport capable of responding to the increasing demand, resulting from a growing economy. The project would builds on the results achieved by the World Banks first Trade and Transport Facilitation Project, closed in 2006, and would extend efforts to streamline and integrate trade data exchange and strengthen cooperation between public and private sectors at regional, national and local levels. It will also assist Pakistan in the World Trade Organization negotiations on trade facilitation, the statement added. At the world level, as an integrated and well-coordinated programme, NTCIP can be considered a best practice example of a corridor programme. The NTCIP is extremely important to Pakistans economy, said Jean-Noel Guillossou, the World Banks Senior Transport Economist and co-team leader of the project. After all, most of Pakistans external and internal trade transits through the National Trade Corridor (NTC). Ports, roads and railways along the NTC handle 95 per cent of the external trade, Jean-Noel Guillossou said according to the statement. The NTC serves domestic needs and links Pakistans main industrial centres and neighbouring countries with international markets through the ports of Pakistan.