The 15th Annual Pakhtunkhwa Highway Council (PkHC) meeting chaired by Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pervez Khattak approved the construction of 9 new highways with the estimated cost of Rs 2 billion, repair and maintenance of 2467 kilometres different roads in the province with the cost of Rs 1 billion and the provincialisation of 43 km two new roads under Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority (PkHA).
The council meeting held at CM House Peshawar, was also attended by Advisor to Chief Minister for Communication & Works, Akbar Ayub Khan, Minister Local Government Inayat Ullah Khan, Finance Minister Muzaffar Said Advocate, Finance Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan, Secretary Communication & Works Asif Khan and Managing Director PkHA Engr Muhammad Uzair Khan besides other concerned authorities.
The implementation on decisions of previous annual meeting and Chief Minister's directives in this regard was also reviewed. The construction of new highways under the Annual Development Plan for current financial year, maintenance and repair of existing roads, provincialization of two new roads under PkHA, service regulations of Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority, enhancement of the power and the structural strengthening of PkHA, operations against encroachment and the resource generation matters for PkHA were thoroughly discussed wherein significant decisions were made on such agenda items.
The timely and quality completion of Swat Expressway costing Rs 34 billion under Public Private Partnership was also discussed in the meeting. Swat Motorway is the first provincial motorway of the country and its completion will result as game-changer in the entire region.
The progress on 2500 meters long dual tunnels of the motorway was also shared with the participants and were informed that due to the accoutring of Jumbo Drill Machine at site, output of drilling work has observed sharp upward trend and tunnels will be completed in 5 to 6 months due to rapid speed of work going on the both sides of the mountain simultaneously.
Similarly, progress on Provincial Roads Rehabilitation Project funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB) was also reviewed and necessary decisions taken. The meeting was told that government wants to develop the scenic touristic spot of Malam Jabba on modern lines with the sole aim to promote tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Chief Minister directed MD PkHA to complete the construction work of Malam Jabba road at earliest and make efforts to get extended cooperation from locals and private sector.
Progress on toll taxes on provincial highways, removal of roadside encroachments and hurdles in overload controlling was also reviewed to which Chief Minister directed not to show any lethargy or softness to law violator in this regard in order to ensure foolproof road safety management. He asked the PkHA to make encroachment-free roads with rapid beautification of works on its sides. Pace of work on Charsadda-Tangi and Charsadda-Mardan road dualization projects, extension of Malang Baba-Nizampur Road and Bannu Bypass were also deliberated upon in the meeting. Furthermore, approval to the feasibility study and engineering design for Kumrat-Kalam road project was also granted to PkHA.