Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will inaugurate work on two road projects in Dera Ghazi Khan today (Saturday). The projects include construction of Northern Bypass and Rakhi Gajj Bewata Section-1, and they will be completed with an estimated cost of Rs 17 billion. Talking to Business Recorder here on Friday, Spokesperson National Highways Authority (NHA) Kashif Zaman said that the Prime Minister would perform groundbreaking of Dera Ghazi Northern Bypass and Rakhi Gajj-Bewata Section-I on Saturday (today).
DG Khan Bypass is a longstanding demand of the residents and it would immensely help regulate traffic flow in the city. Strategically, DG Khan Bypass is situated at confluence point of all the four provinces. This situation creates frequent traffic jams there. Major national highways N-55, Indus Highway and N-70 (Multan-Killa Saifullah) as well as four provincial highways pass through the city which create enormous burden on city roads, Zaman pointed out.
The NHA spokesperson said that the bypass will divert the heavy traffic currently passing through the heart of the city. It will help in reducing the travel time and accidents. About 2.5 million people will get benefit from the project with an average daily traffic count of around 5,000 vehicles.
The 18km long bypass will take 18 months to complete and its cost will be Rs 4 billion. The construction of five bridges and a flyover at railway crossing are also part of the project. He further said that Rakhi Gajj-Bewata section is extremely important as it connects Punjab with Balochistan being a shortest route.
The entire commercial traffic originating from Balochistan travels through N-70 to reach various destinations in Punjab. The widening and improvement of this road will help in quick movement of people as well as agriculture products between the two provinces. The project will cost around Rs 13 billion.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) considered and approved the National Highway N-70, Rakhi Gajj-Bewata, East-West Road Project at a revised cost of Rs 22.994 billion. The road is an important link between Balochistan and southern regions of Punjab. The project envisages revamping of a stretch of 32.651km long two lanes single carriageway of N-70 from Rakhi Gajj to Bewata in districts Dera Ghazi Khan and Loralai.
The construction work also includes the construction of a steel bridge to be one of its kinds once it gets completed. However, the NHA clarified that Rakhi Gajj-Bewata Section-I is 11km (one section) which would be completed with estimated cost of Rs 11 billion.
Improvement and rehabilitation of this highway will facilitate transportation of fresh fruits, vegetables, coal from Balochistan to Punjab. On the other hand the project will also provide speedy transportation of agricultural produces like rice and wheat from Punjab to Balochistan. Such exchange of economic activity will ultimately prepare the ground to improve economic condition of Balochistan particularly, the spokesperson added.
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