Lowari tunnel seems not in PM's list of key projects

ISLAMABAD, Nov 1: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed that major infrastructure projects, including motorways which would improve communication across the country, should be completed at the earliest. He made these remarks during a briefing given to him by Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA) Shahid Ashraf Tarar at the PM’s House on Saturday. But it seemed Lowari tunnel was not on the list of projects considered by the prime minister to be important for the development of communication infrastructure. When the PML-N government was facing the heat of the sit-ins of PTI and PAT in Islamabad, the prime minister tried to stage a drama of sort by making a bid to visit the Lowari tunnel site but he could not reach the site due to what the government claimed bad weather. After that, we have not heard any news about the progress on the mega project. On Saturday, the NHA chairman informed the prime minister at a meeting that for the first time in the history of Pakistan the contracts of three build, transfer and operate (BOT) projects costing Rs91 billion had been awarded which would generate Rs366 billion over the concession period. Tarar said that the construction of Karachi-Hyderabad motorway would start in the last week of December while groundbreaking of motorway E-35 (Burhan-Havelian) would be carried out in the last week of December. The meeting noted that Naluchi Bridge in Muzaffarabad and M-4 (Faisalabad-Gojra) were almost complete and would be ready for inauguration in the second week of December. The NHA was directed that work on Karachi-Hyderabad motorway and Khanewal-Lahore motorway should be completed as soon as possible without compromising on the issues of transparency and international standards. The meeting was informed that Pindi Bhattian to Faisalabad motorway was being planned to be converted from existing four lanes into a six-lane motorway. The NHA was also directed that a good road may be built to connect Okara and Bahawalpur with Karachi-Lahore motorway. And there was no mention of the Lowari tunnel project. Our elected representatives, especially MNA Iftikharuddin, should now take practical steps, not making claims on paper, to force the federal government to release funds for the almost stalled project.]]>