ISLAMABAD, Feb 14 (APP): The Lowari tunnel project would be
completed by end of this year, said an official of National Highway
Authority (NHA).
About unusual delay in the completion of the project he said
that work on Lowari tunnel project started in Sept 2005 and it was to
be completed by 2008. As far its PC-1 it was supposed to cost Rs 9
billion.
However, its completion period was extended when the then
government decided to convert it into a road tunnel in 2009.
Answering a question, he said that total allocation as per revised
PC-1 of the Lowari road tunnel was Rs 18.13 billion.
Work on the tunnel began on Sept 8, 1975 but it was stopped in
1977 after change of the government on the pretext of lack of funds
and other development priorities. The work did not resume until Sept
2005.
After becoming fully operational,the tunnel will reduce the current
14-hour drive from Chitral to Peshawar by 50 percent. Moreover, people
of Chitral have to travel through Afghanistan and then enter back into
Pakistan during the winter season when Lowari Top is closed for
traffic. Chitral remains virtually inaccessible during winter and the
tunnel will facilitate all-weather transportation.
In 2015, the government approved additional funds for a revised
PC-I of the Lowari Tunnel, and indicated that it should be completed
by October 2017.
Under the revised budget, it is expected to cost Rs 18.13
billion.However, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his visit to
Chitral in October last directed NHA to complete the project by end of
2016.