Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

K-P CM wants work on motorways expedited

Orders quick handover of land to provincial highway authority

Our Correspondent January 17, 2023

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has directed the relevant authorities to ensure handing over of the requisite land to Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority (PKHA) for the construction of Swat Motorway Phase 2 and Dir Motorway on priority.

He also directed the PKHA to start construction work at different spots simultaneously on Swat Motorway phase 2 so that the project could be completed within the stipulated timelines.

While chairing a progress review meeting of the roads sector, the CM directed the Communications & Works Department to speed up progress on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project and construction of roads under Provincial Roads Improvement Project.

He termed Swat Motorway Phase 2 an important project for boosting tourism in the area adding that the project will not only provide easy access to tourists’ destination but will also help in generating livelihood opportunities for the locals.

The meeting was given a detailed briefing on the progress of Motorways and other road sector projects. The participants were informed that the Swat Motorway Phase 2 is being constructed under the Public Private Partnership mode for which the codal formalities are near completion whereas physical work has been initiated on the land provided to the Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority.

About Dir Motorway, it was informed that 30 kilometers of land has been identified for the project in Tehsils Adinzai and Balambat and the land acquisition is currently in progress.

It is pertinent to mention here that 30 km long Dir Motorway is being constructed from Chakdara Interchange to Baroon (Dir Lower), at a total cost of 53 billion rupees. The meeting was told that the PC-1 of the K-P Rural Accessibility Project, worth 69 billion rupees, has been cleared by the Provincial Development Working Party and submitted to the Central Development Working Party for approval.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2023.