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 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, said an official handout.
While chairing a progress review meeting of the roads sector, the Chief Minister directed the Communications & Works Department to speed up progress on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project and the construction of roads under the Provincial Roads Improvement Project.
The chief minister has termed Swat Motorway Phase 2 as an important project for boosting tourism in the area adding that 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 sector projects.
The participants were informed that the Swat Motorway Phase 2 is being constructed under the Public Private Partnership mode for which the codal formalities are near completion whereas physical work has been initiated on the land provided to the Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority.
Regarding Dir Motorway, it was informed that 30 kilometers of land have been identified for the project in Tehsils Adinzai and Balambat and the land acquisition is currently in progress. It is pertinent to mention here that the 30 km 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 of flood-affected and 451 km of 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 9 roads has been completed, while substantial progress has been ensured on the remaining 7 roads and will be completed by March this year.
The chief minister said that the provincial government is improving the overall road infrastructure to provide quality transportation facilities to the citizens and to boost trade activities in the province. Additional Chief Secretary Ikram Ullah, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Amjad Ali Khan, Secretary Planning and Development Shah Mehmood, Secretary Tourism Tahir Orakzai, DG Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority, and other concerned officials attended the meeting.
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