Fast progress: Khushalgarh bridge tops govt priority, says governor

RECORDER REPORT

PESHAWAR: The government attached high priority to the completion of a new bridge over Indus River at Khushalgarh and it would ensure the provision of adequate financial resources to materialise it without any hindrance, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar said on Sunday.

Speaking during a briefing by the National Highway Authority (NHA) at the project site, the governor said that the project's progress was encouraging and there was a need for maintaining the same pace.

The governor congratulated the authority for completing 24 percent of work against a target of just 7 percent and said that this was only possible because of the keen interest of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and federal Minster for Communication Dr Arbab Alamgir Khan.

Referring to the expected monthly income of Rs40 million after the completion of the bridge to NHA, the governor said the completion of the project would pave the way for setting up an oil refinery in the region. Such sites, he said, carried a lot of potential for developing tourism, adding that this needed to be exploited as well.

Meanwhile, the governor was informed that the project was scheduled to be completed in December next year and keeping in view the pace of the project's progress, the desired target would be achieved five months ahead of the original schedule. However, he was informed that favourable weather conditions during the next four months were highly crucial for the project. He was informed that efforts were being made to overcome expected hurdles.

The governor was further informed that work on the rehabilitation of terrorism-hit bridges at Darra Adam Khel as well as acquisition of gadgets for restoration of lighting system in the Kotal Tunnel was also in progress, and likely to be completed over the next couple of months.

The governor handed over a cheque of 150,000 each to 32 deserving women under the Waseela-e-Rozgar Scheme of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Income Support Programme for setting up their own enterprises.

Appreciating the courage of the women to generate financial support for their families, he said there was a need for the beneficiaries to utilise resources in the true spirit of the programme.

Eng. Yousuf Ali, Member, Construction, Eng. Fazal Nawab Khattak, General Manager and Eng. Nadeem Hussain Malik, NHA's Project Director also briefed the governor about their achievements.