The tunnelling work at Lowari Rail tunnel is expected to be completed by December this year. The opening of the tunnel for general public will be a gigantic step for the people of Chitral and Northern Areas and the project would be important for linking Pakistan with Central Asia.
This was stated by Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA) Altaf Ahmed Chaudhry in a presentation to secretary communication Sharif Ahmed here on Tuesday.
It is pertinent to mention here that Lowari tunnel is important for strategic point of view as after it completion Chitral will not remain cut off from the rest of the country during winter.
NHA Chairman informed that the project of Lakpass tunnel in Balochistan was completed and would be opened for traffic in January 2009. The secretary was informed that the work on the Southern part of Lyari Expressway had already been completed and opened for traffic while the northern part would be completed as soon as the encroachments were removed from the area.
Chairman NHA said that more than 3000 km of roads were under construction. These roads will be completed in the next two years at a cost of around Rs124 billion.
The Chairman informed the secretary that land acquisition process on Faisalabad-Multan motorway (M-4) would start soon after which work on this important project would commence. He said that the project would provide motorway access to commuters from Peshawar to Multan.
Secretary communication called for timely completion of various projects. He said that establishment of a national trade corridor was government's priority and once completed, the network of motorways will play a crucial rule in country's trade relations with the Central Asian States.