Construction work on 51 kilometres Peshawar-Torkham Expressway costing Rs 11 billion would start in January 2008 and it would be completed within three years, sources in National Highway Authority (NHA) informed APP on Sunday.
The work on the Expressway will start from Surkamar near Bagyari and winding through Shagai Fort, Ali Masjid, Char Bagh and Landi Khana will end at the Torkham Post on Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
"The expressway is a proof of commitment that the government is showing towards improving the communication system in the remote mountainous areas. It would not only benefit the commuters, frequently using the road but also ensure more job opportunities, development and improvement in the lifestyle of the tribesmen", the sources added.
Peshawar-Torkham Express-way, they added would convert the single lane dilapidated road into a dual carriageway. The project would be completed in two phases. The estimated cost of the 17-kilometre section-II is Rs 5.4 billion while 34 kilometers long section-I will cost Rs 5.64 billion. The PC-I of the project has been approved by the ECNEC while the design has also been prepared.
Besides a tunnel at Char Bagh, a number of flyovers and underpasses have been proposed to facilitate commuters from the villages on both side of the route.
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) would finance the project, which also provided financial assistance for the construction of Kohat tunnel, the longest subway of the country.
He said that the widening of the Torkham-Jalalabad Highway would provide a fillip to trade links with Afghanistan and the landlocked Central Asian countries. Presently Torkham-Jalalabad Highway, lacking the required transportation facilities, was not suitable for strong bilateral commerce. After widening of the Peshawar-Torkham Road all kinds of vehicles would ply on it conveniently.
It may be mentioned here that NHA last year constructed Torkham-Jalababad 70-kilometre highway, Pakistan's biggest ever investment inside the war-ravaged country. The official said the construction of the highway has reduced travel time between Peshawar and Jalalabad considerably.