Minister for Communications Dr Arbab Alamgir on Saturday directed the National Highway Authority (NHA) to enter into comprehensive negotiations with M/s Samba Contractor of the Lowari Tunnel Project in order to re-activate work on the project and ensure its earlier completion.
The minister was presiding over a high level meeting held regarding Lowari Tunnel here. He assured that provision of required funds shall be ensured to the contractor. The Federal Minister was told during the meeting that the existing excavation width of the Tunnel is 5.3 metre, which was originally planned for rail tunnel, while as the project has been converted into road tunnel, the width shall have to be extended to 7.3 metre for single carriageway as per international standards.
The meeting was told that completion of tunnel within four years period should require Rs 3 billion per annum. The Federal Minister directed NHA to ensure provision of required funds for timely completion of the project. The Federal Minister also assured that liabilities of M/s Samba amounting to Rs 211 million should be made at the earliest.
The Federal Minister said that several causes have led to delay in the project, including severe flood of 2010, which badly affected the national economy, and financial crunch during which the NHA received only Rs 18 billion instead of Rs 36 billion allocated financial budget. This left impact on almost all the projects of the NHA.
Provincial Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhaw Saleem Khan termed Tunnel Project, a matter of life and death for people of Chitral, as their economic, industrial and trade development directly depends on it, therefore, he added, its earlier completion is the demand of the time. Provincial Minister of KP Saleem Khan, Federal Secretary Communications Anwar Ahmad Khan, Additional Secretary Amjad Nazir, Senior Joint Secretary Abdul Basit and Chairman NHA Muhammad Junaid attended the meeting.