Swat: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Ahmed Khan while addressing a massive gathering of elders from different areas of the district here in Saidu Sharif said that the government is undertaking 314 Uplift Projects In Swat district which would change the structure of the district altogether and open new avenues of development and advancement in the region. He also revealed that the PM is going to inaugurate the Second Phase Of Swat Expressway on 5th January (tomorrow). The notables on the occasion include federal minister Murad Saeed, Provincial minister Mohibullah Khan, MNA Saleem ur Rehman and MPA Azizullah Khan, and local leadership of the incumbent party.
Speaking on the occasion he regretted that the previous governments never paid any heed to develop the remote districts of the province and his government has for the first time decided to focus on all districts of the province on an equal basis. He said that the current government is spending Rs 230 billion on 314 different projects in Swat District including five universities and nine-degree colleges in Swat district. He highlighted the efforts of his government in promoting tourism in the country especially in the tourist stations like Swat. He said, “New tourist resorts have been identified in Swat and other areas of Malakand division and included in the allover Tourism Sector Of KPK. About 2.7 million tourists visited Malakand and Hazara divisions during the previous Eids”. He added, “Three new grid stations have been established to overcome power load shedding and low voltage issue in Swat, while new gas pipeline is being installed at the cost of Rs100 million to maintain gas pressure in Mingora,”
The eighty Km long second phase of Swat Expressway from Chakdara Interchange to Fatehpur Madyan is being built on the Build-Operate-Transfer basis as decided during a meeting of the Private Public Partnership Committee chaired by the CM KP. The CM in the meeting had directed the concerned quarters to ensure timely completion of the project. The CM on the occasion had said, “Keeping in view the increasing volume of traffic on the Swat Motorway Phase-I, it is very easy to predict that the second phase of the motorway will be feasible in all respects, It will not only provide high-speed traveling facilities to the public but will also prove to be a milestone for the promotion of local and international tourism, agriculture and trade and economic activities.” He said that initially, the expressway would have four lanes which could be extended to six lanes in the future.
The incumbent government under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan is working on a bottom-up approach to the development of the country like promoting tourism in Swat, Murree, Galyat, and other notable tourists resorts of the country. Promotion of tourism, Construction of infrastructure for tourism, integrated tourist resorts coupled with the construction of economic zones near the motorways will not only provide sources of entertainment and speedy traveling but also play an important role in the economic uplift of the country as envisaged by the prime minister.
