Sense of achievement in KP after adoption of its 3 major roads projects under CPEC

PESHAWAR: There is a sense of relief and achievement in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that three major road projects in the province were recently adopted by the eighth meeting of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Joint Working Group on Transport Infrastructure.

The virtual meeting in which secretary communication Zafar Hasan led the Pakistani side and China’s vice minister Dao Dongchang headed his government team, adopted the 320-kilometres long Peshawar-Dera Ismail Khan highway, the second phase of Swat Motorway from Chakdara in Lower Dir district to Fatehpur in Swat, which will be 80-kms long, and the 30-kms Dir Expressway. The PTI government in KP has been pushing for inclusion of these three road projects and some others in CPEC. Chief Minister Mahmood Khan had told a recent meeting in Peshawar that he will pursue it for inclusion in the projects being built under CPEC. The meeting had approved the project through public-private partnership under the Build-Operate Transfer (BoT) financial model. There could be changes in this model if the Chinese-funded CPEC becomes involved in the project as it has already been adopted.

The Swat Motorway Phase-11, which will have nine interchanges at major population centres including Chakdara. Shamozai, Barikot, Takhtaband, Malam Jabba, Sher Palam, Matta Khwazakhela and Fatehpur-Madyan and eight main bridges on river Swat to connect people living on both sides of the motorway, is a pet project of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, who belongs to Swat. Like every chief minister in the past he has been focusing attention on his native district, which suffered due to militancy and military operations, displacement and floods. He has allocated huge funds for development work in Swat. He also has plans to establish an economic zone near the Swat Motorway. The total estimated cost of Swat Motorway-Phase II would be Rs60.5 billion, including Rs37.2 for construction cost and Rs20.5 billion for purchase of land and resettlement.

The Swat-Motorway Phase-I takes off from Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway at Colonel Captain Sher Interchange in Nowshera district and goes on for about 80 kilometres to Allah Dhand Dheray-Chakdara. It is now under use though motorists often complain that the road isn’t smooth enough and has numerous bumps. The Frontier Works Organization (FWO), which built this road and is now managing it and collecting toll tax under an agreement with the KP government, has been trying to carry out repairs. The Peshawar High Court Qaiser Rasheed, known for highlighting public interest issues, had also raised objections about the quality of this road.

The Peshawar-Dera Ismail Khan road was pursued by Maulana Fazlur Rahman during the PML-N government as they were allies. After its adoption by CPEC, this long road would quickly link Islamabad with Dera Ismail Khan, which is the native district of Maulana Fazlur Rahman.

The Dir Expressway is being built on great public demand as local people and politicians were complaining that this project has been dropped. In KP, other proposed projects of interest for the government include the upgradation of the long-delayed Dera Ismail Khan-Zhob road, the much-needed Peshawar Circular Railway, the Chitral-Shandoor-Gilgit road, the Mansehra-Muzaffarabd-Mirpur road and the Chitral-Chakdara highway connecting the Swat Motorway to Col Sher Khan Interchange on M-I as part of the CPEC’s Western route. A project to study and repair parts of the Karakoram Highway affected due to landslides would benefit both KP and Gilgit-Baltistan.