Daily Times

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is all set to practically take up the Pehur High Level Canal extension bringing as many as 8727 hectares of barren lands under irrigation and providing direct jobs to 7500 people mostly in district Swabi.

For this purpose the Government signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) whereby the later will provide US Dollar 86.41 million for the execution of this scheme. The Project is an extension to the command area of the Pehur High Level Canal and draws its supplies through Gandaf Tunnel directly which conveys irrigation water from Tarbela Dam reservoir.

Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar and Senior Minister Irrigation Sikandar Khan Sherpao, Special Assistant to CM KP Abdul Karim Khan were present on the occasion while Country Director ADB Ms. Xiaohong Yong, Secretary Economic Affairs Division Tariqa Mahmud Pasha and Secretary Irrigation KP Tariq Rashid signed the agreement.

The proposed Project is located almost 120 Km to the North West of Islamabad and 102 Km towards east from the Peshawar City. The Project proposal for irrigating the Indus Amber area comprises 24.17 Km long pressure pipe and 27.36 Km long main canal and the Janda Boka system comprises 3.94 Km pressure pipe and 10.53 Km length of main canal. The two pressure pipes start from the existing Gandaf Tunnel which off takes from Tarbela Dam.

Briefly talking on the occasion, Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar said that spade work for the Pehur High Level Canal Extension Project was taken up in 1994, when Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao was the Chief Minister. He said that at that time a lot of progress was made in the project but it was not taken up for different reasons by the successive governments. However, he was glade today to see that the project is practically taken up at a time when Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao is heading the Department of Irrigation as Senior Minister in the Province.