NHA approves upgrade of Jaglot-Skardu road

The project worth Rs31 billion will be completed in three years

ISLAMABAD: The executive board of the National Highway Authority on Tuesday approved upgrading of Jaglot-Skardu strategic road, a project worth Rs31 billion, which will help reduce travelling time from eight hours to four hours approximately.

While sharing the details of the project, an official of NHA said that once the road will be upgraded and widened, it will not only facilitate the locals, tourists but will also be significant for defence purposes as the Kargil, Siachin, Batalik and the Chourbat borders fall in this region. It will facilitate the Pakistan Army specifically by reducing the travel time to Siachen, the official said.

According to the details shared in the meeting, the 164km road will be completed in three years and the route will be made safer and easier to travel.

Due to the existing condition of the road with sharp turns and narrow passages, fatal road accidents are quite frequent because of which majority of the people prefer to travel by air rather than the road.

“The route upgrade will also help boost tourism in the region which will ultimately help in boosting up the economy,” said the official.

After the approval from NHA, the project will go to the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final approval, said the official.

The executive board of the NHA also approved the project PC-1 worth Rs7 billion for the construction of a four-lane bridge over river Indus connecting Dera Ismail Khan and Kaloorkot. The project includes construction of 1.2 km long bridge along with access roads on both sides.

The meeting was informed that a wide network of motorways and highways was being constructed under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Out of 13 motorways planned, Peshawar-Islamabad (M-1), Islamabad-Lahore (M-2), Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad, and Faisalabad-Gojra (M-4) were already operational while the rest would be completed during the next 2-3 years, taking the overall length of motorway network to over 2000km. The projects still under construction include Thakot-Havelian Motorway (120 km), Havelian-Hassanabdal Motorway (53 km), Hakla-DI Khan Expressway (280 km), Lahore-AbdulHakeem Motorway (230 km), Multan-Sukkur Motorway (393 km) and Gojra-Shorkot Motorway (62 km).

Metro Bus extension

The executive board also approved two packages of Islamabad Metro Bus track.

The first package from Peshawar Morr to G-13 is 8km long and will cost Rs6.5 billion, whereas, the second package form G-13 to N-5 Interchange is 3.8 km and will cost Rs5.5 billion. Chairman NHA informed the meeting that all available resources were being utilised to ensure that the projects are completed on time.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2017.