ISLAMABAD: National Highway Authority (NHA) striving for early construction of ongoing road infrastructure projects has accomplished 18 mega projects during past four and a half years.
In 2017, National Highway Authority (NHA) completed three mega projects Lowari Tunnel, 75 kilometres section of Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway and 47-km section of Burhan-Havelian Motorway also known Hazara Motorway, an official of the authority informed state-run media on Tuesday.
He said that 75 kilometre section of Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9) was inaugurated in February last year.The 75-km portion starts from Lucky Cement area and goes all the way till Lanikot Bridge.
The motorway is being constructed by FWO under Built Operation Transfer (BOT) basis. Another mega project,he said, Lowari tunnel located on Nowshera-Chitral National Highway (N-45) was completed at a cost of about Rs 27 billion and opened for traffic in July,2017.
Work on the project gained momentum in 2013 when the present government came to power.The mega highway project was initiated in 2005 but its work was stopped at times due to a shortage of funds, and at others due to a change in design and security reasons.
He said that the 47-km Burhan-Shah Maqsood section of another important project Hazara Motorway became operational on December 27 last year. Its remaining portion is likely to be completed by May this year.
Giving further details of the NHA projects completed in past four years, he said that balance work of 193 km Gwadar-Hoshab section of M-8 was completed in February 2016 at the cost Rs 13 billion.
Similarly, he added, balance work of 111 km Kalat-Quetta-Chaman was completed in December 2016 at the cost Rs 6 billion. Another important project completed during 2016 was 144 km Raikot-Thakot section of Karakoram Highway which cost Rs 6.3 billion.
Jalkhad-Chilas section of N-15,he said, was completed in June 2016 at the cost Rs 3.75 billion. He said that about 197 km Sehwan-Rattodero section of Indus Highway was upgraded in December 2016 and the project cost over Rs 14 billion.
Sultan Bahu Bridge on river Chenab was completed in June 2016 at the cost Rs 4.3 billion, the NHA official said. He said that Rs 18.6 billion were spent on the completion of Basima-Nag-Panjgoor-Hoshab Highway (N-85) which was completed in December 2015.
Work on the project had started in 2007 and it had become a sick project due to unusual delay in completion. He said that the NHA completed two sections of the Faisalabad-Multan Motorway in 2015. About 56 km Khanewal-Multan section was completed in March 2015 at the cost Rs 12 billion and 58 km Faisalabad-Gojra section in November 2015 at the cost Rs 9.6 billion. Similarly 24 km Attaabad Tunnel was completed in September 2015 at the cost Rs 27.5 billion,he said adding that about 132 km Waigum Rud-Khajori-Bewata section N-70 was completed in March 2015 and the project cost Rs 3.24 billion. Moreover, 252 km roads were rehabilitated in May 2015 at the cost Rs 12 billion and 35 km section of Kohala-Muzaffarabad Highway and two bridges in AJK were built under Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Programme in December 2015.
Published in Daily Times, April 18th 2018.