Work on Swat Expressway to begin next month: official

PESHAWAR: The work on the Swat Expressway is expected to be launched next month.

An official communiqué said the Swat Expressway is a mega project to be launched by the provincial government and would be completed at an estimated cost of Rs38 billion in two years.

The 81 kilometres long expressway will connect Karnal Sher Khan Interchange on the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway with Chakdara, tunneling its way through the mountains at Palai and Ala Dhand.

Officials of the Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority said with the completion of the Swat Expressway, the journey from Karnal Sher Khan Interchange to Chakdara would take only 45 minutes.

According to its estimates, more than 18,000 vehicles would ply the route on a daily basis, generating direct and indirect revenue.

The officials argued that the expressway would boost tourism, create jobs and help develop under-developed parts of Swabi, Mardan, Malakand and other districts.