Karakoram Highway to get facelift with Rs16b

Minister of State for Law and Justice Shahadat Awan on Tuesday informed the Senate that an amount of Rs16.239 billion had been proposed for widening and rehabilitation of the existing N-35 (Karakoram Highway), passing through Abbottabad in the forthcoming Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the year 2023-24.

Replying to a calling attention notice raised by Kamran Murtaza about severe traffic jams in Abbottabad city due to non-construction of flyovers and underpasses, the minister said the project had been included in the PSDP for 2023-24 in order to address the longstanding issue of traffic jams in the city.

The project has been divided into three packages, he added.

He said package one included the road from Muslim Abad to Bus Stand, package two from Allah-Hu Chowk to Allah-Hu Chowk and package-3 from Allah-hu Chowk to APS School.

He admitted that it was a longstanding issue, adding that it was already under consideration by the government.

Earlier, Kamran Murtaza had raised concerns about the problems faced by the people, particularly tourists, due to traffic jams in the Abbottabad city.