Handing over of land for Dir, Swat motorways ordered

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 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 a priority basis.

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.

Chairing a progress review meeting of the roads sector, the chief minister termed Swat Motorway Phase 2 as an important project for boosting tourism in the area, adding the project will not only provide easy access to tourist destinations but will also help in generating livelihood opportunities for the locals.

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

Regarding Dir Motorway, it was informed that 30 kilometers of land had been identified for the project in tehsils Adinzai and Balambat and the land acquisition was 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 Rs53 billion.

The meeting was told that the PC-1 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project, worth Rs69 billion, had been cleared by the Provincial Development Working Party and submitted to the Central Development Working Party for approval.

Under the project, 774 km roads will be constructed, including 323 km flood affected and 451 km rural access roads. Regarding the progress made so far under the Provincial Roads Improvement Project, it was informed that the construction of two out of nine roads had been completed while substantial progress had been ensured on the remaining seven roads that will be completed by March this year.