Boats and more: Tarbela to get much-needed tourism boost

PML-N MNA says Nawaz approved project for recreational park

HARIPUR: The federal government has decided to fund a recreational park to promote tourism in Haripur, said PML-N MNA Babar Nawaz Khan.

He was speaking to the media during a visit to Tarbela Lake on Chappar Road on Wednesday. Accompanied by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Chaudhry Kabeer Ahmed Khan, Babar visited proposed sites on Chappar Road for the recreational park.

Babar said the area surrounding Tarbela Lake remained neglected despite its massive potential for tourism. “As a result, the national exchequer is being deprived of considerable earnings.”

He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave his nod of approval to allocation of funds for the construction of a recreational park, a state-of-the-art motel and water sports facilities. He said the PTDC MD was helping him identify a suitable location. A feasibility report would be presented to the prime minister within the next few days for a formal approval for fund allocation.

The MNA hoped the recreational space would not only attract locals, but foreign tourists as well.

Tarbela Lake is 97 kilometres long and one of the largest in the country.

The mighty Indus, through a number of small tributaries and the world’s four biggest glaciers, feeds the lake through perennial water sources.

Besides irrigating thousands of acres of agricultural land across the country, Tarbela will help with the generation of 3,478 megawatts of electricity at a powerhouse near Swabi district. The lake also attracts flocks of Siberian migratory birds every winter.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2015.