The National Highway Authority (NHA) Executive Board Wednesday approved Hazara Expressway project with a total cost of Rs 33 billion. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will formerly perform groundbreaking of the 60 kms highway on November 29 which would be completed in three years. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) would finance the project, said NHA Chairman Shahid Ashraf Tarar while chairing the board meeting.
Nawaz Sharif is going to inaugurate four mega projects including Hazara Expressway, Faisalabad-Gojra Motorway, Lahore-Multan Motorway Section and Renovation of Islamabad-Lahore Motorway (M-2) during the current and the next month and construction work on the projects to be started immediately, NHA chairman added. Spokesperson of NHA told Business Recorder that resettlement issue of displaced persons has been resolved, as they were being paid, adding that construction work on the project would be started immediately, he maintained.
Briefing the participants of the Board meeting, Tarar said that Hazara Expressway is a four-lane expressway, but can be upgraded to six-lane if needed and the Prime Minister also aims to upgrade all motorways of the country to six lanes.
The Board Members were told that Burhan Interchange on Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway (M-1) is Hazara Expressway's start point, whereas it has three sections from Hasanabdal to Jarikas, from Jarikas to Serai Saleh and from Serai Saleh to Hawalian, respectively; the expressway will have 26 bridges, 15 underpasses, 2 railway bridges and 150 culverts.
Tarar said that utmost transparency is the basic principle while carrying out construction work in the communications sector, and no compromise would be made in this regard. The Chairman stressed the need for complete transparency in the administrative and construction process and urged all concerned authorities to ensure it with full responsibility.
The Executive Board also discussed in detail construction of Peshawar-Torkham-Jalalabad-Kabul Motorway and PC-1 cost of Guwadar-Turbat-Hoshab Road Project (M-8) and expansion of Jalalpur-Peerwala-Och Sharif Section of (N-15). According to official sources the government is interested in the Peshawar-Torkham-Jalalabad-Kabul Motorway project, as it would pave the way for trade with central Asian countries. However the idea of the project is at very initial stage, they added.