NWFP Governor Lieutenant General Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah (Retd) has said that a multipurpose complex of international standard would be constructed at Torkham border that will have all the modern facilities of customs and immigration services.
He was talking to a 20-member delegation of tribal elders of Shinwari Khuga Khel tribe, headed by Senator Maulana Abdul Malik, which called on him here at the Governor House on Friday.
The governor said that the Torkham development project would not only boost trade and economic activities in the area, but would also benefit the local population.
The governor said that we want to boost the activities in a way to benefit the local people in maximum. The project, he added, when completed would facilitate the tribal population of the area to have an upper hold on all the trade and commerce activities on the border.
The area when developed would have new petrol pumps, vehicle repair workshops, hotels and markets that would also increase the employment opportunities and provide economic benefits mostly to the people.
The governor also referred to the projects of construction of Torkham-Jalalabad road and Peshawar-Torkham Expressway, saying the new highway would be linked to Islamabad and Lahore Motorways so as to make it an international trade route.
The area would become a hub of trade activities through Afghanistan, he said, adding, "If we don't care for future requirements at this stage we may lose the advantages of international trade in future."
On the demands of the delegation, the governor said that the local population would not be affected, as we would acquire land according to our minimum requirements. However, he assured that the owner of the land would be given due compensation.
He said that we did not want to harm the local people or damaged the local trade, but would provide them the opportunity to reconstruct shops and other buildings just a few hundred yards behind the present locations.
Earlier, members of the delegation informed the governor about their apprehensions as well as reservation on the Torkham development project.
Meanwhile, NWFP Governor Lieutenant General Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah (Retd) also presided over a meeting on Torkham border complex project, which was also attended by a group of foreign consultants besides Secretary to Governor Sahibzada Saeed Ahmad and other concerned officials.
The meeting held discussion on the design of the project and provision of resources to complete the proposed complex.
The governor said that the project was aimed at to provide better facilities to the commuters and regulate the incoming and outgoing traffic.
He said that we must be considerate about the future requirements as the volume of traffic on this international trade route was expected to raise manifold in the years to come.
The governor also urged close co-ordination between various departments and organisations during the implementation process.
The governor while talking to the delegation of traders from Bara, Khyber Agency said that the tribal entrepreneurs would be given preference in the proposed small industrial estates in Fata.
However, the industrialists from other areas would also be welcomed to take equal advantage of the industrial areas proposed to be developed in different parts of Fata. He said that these industrial estates would not only generate employment in respective areas, but would also boost the industrial and economic activities.
The governor said that the government would provide necessary funds to improve civic facilities in Bara market. He emphasised the need for maintaining peaceful atmosphere.
On a demand, the governor said that the government had already started to consider construction of residential colonies in different big towns of Fata and the concerned political agents had already been directed to go ahead with such projects.
These colonies, on the patron of satellite towns would have all the required civic facilities.