In a meeting of the Private-public Partnership Committee held under the Chief Minister KP Mahmood Khan the Draft Agreement of the 80 KM Swat Motorway Phase-II Construction has been approved. Initially having four lanes extendable to six-lane later, the road under the flagship project of Swat Motorway will be constructed from Chakdara Interchange to Fatehpur Interchange. The Rs 37 Billion Motorway Project with the additional cost of Rs 20 billion for procurement of land will have nine interchanges and eight bridges. Phase-I of the mega project from Noshera to Chakdara has already been inaugurated last year.
According to details, the Phase-I of the project starting from Noshera passing through Swabi, Mardan and Malakand Sawat District culminates at Chakdara in Lower Dir District. The road was opened for traffic in June 2019. The phase-I constructed by the FWO at the cost of Rs 36 billion has reduced the traveling distance between Noshera and Chakdara from three hours to one hour. The participant of the meetings was given a detailed briefing on the Public-Private Partnership draft. The meeting was attended by Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Fazal Shakoor, Riaz Khan, Chief Secretary Shehzad Bangash, Additional Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, and the officials of the relevant departments of the province.
The meeting was further informed that for the acquisition of land section iv has been imposed on the forty-kilometer area to ensure the procurement of land in all aspects within the stipulated time. It was also told that eight bridges on Swat River would be constructed besides nine interchanges and four rest areas along the motorway. The link roads and highways where necessary would also be constructed. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that this road project is very important for the socio-economic development of the country. He further directed the concerned quarters to ensure the timely execution of all aspects of the project so that the groundbreaking of the Motorway could be carried out within the stipulated time. He warned that no delay whatsoever in the execution of the project would be tolerated. KPK is full of natural beauty and recently have gained a lot of attention at Dubai Expo 2022 event. To promote tourism more and more, smooth roads are very necessary. so this mega project will also help in the promotion and ease in the tourism sector of the country.
It is to be mentioned here that Swat Motorway, a route of about 60 km would benefit directly the people of Swat, Upper, and Lower Dir and Chatral besides promoting easy access to market for the products of the region. The promotion of Infrastructure in the region will also bring about a magical effect on tourism development and play a vital role in boosting economic activities in the region as envisaged by the Prime Minister.
