Swat, Dir motorways: KP chief minister wants required land handed over to PKHA

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Monday 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 basis.

Chairing a progress review meeting of the roads sector, he directed the PKHA to start construction work at different spots on Swat Motorway Phase-2 so that the project could be completed within the stipulated timelines.

The chief minister asked the Communications and Works Department to speed up progress on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project and construction of roads under Provincial Roads Improvement Project.

Mahmood Khan termed the Swat Motorway Phase-2 as an important project for boosting tourism in the area, adding that the project would not only provide easy access to tourist destinations but would also help in generating livelihood opportunities for the locals.

Earlier, a detailed briefing was given on the progress made on Swat Motorway Phase-2, Dir Motorway and other roads sector projects, said a handout.The participants were informed that the Swat Motorway Phase-2 was being constructed under the Public-Private Partnership mode for which the codal formalities were near completion whereas physical work had been initiated on the 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 Adinzai and Balambat tehsils and the land acquisition was currently in progress.The 30km 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 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 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. Under the project, 774 km of different 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 has been completed, while substantial progress has been ensured on the remaining 7 roads and will be completed by March this year.