Peshawar: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mehmood Khan laid the foundation stone of Swat Motorway Phase II near Chakdara Interchange on Thursday.
The 88 km long Swat Motorway Phase II will start from Chakdra and end at Fatehpur at an estimated cost of Rs 36.404 billion.
The motorway will have four lanes but can be expanded to six lanes in future. Under the project, 9 interchanges and eight bridges will be constructed on Swat River at various locations.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister termed the Swat Motorway Phase Two as a flagship project for the sustainable development of the region and said that on completion, this project will prove to be a masterpiece of road communication.
The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone for the construction of Sanam Dam in Isbanar, Lower Dir, which is estimated to cost Rs 2 billion.
Sanam Dam, with a discharge capacity of 10 cusecs, will cultivate a command area of ​​2,150 acres. Describing these projects as very important for the food security of the province, the Chief Minister added that the Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) project has also been approved.
He said that the CRBC will irrigate about four lakh acres of land when completed.
Khan said that KP is mostly dependent on other provinces for agricultural production and therefore the provincial government is trying to make the province self-sufficient.
He also inaugurated Chakdara Bypass Road and Special Education Complex Chakdara which has been completed at a cost of Rs 540 million.
Similarly, he laid the foundation stone of a Public Park Chakdara, BS Block at Government Degree College Gulabad and Stadium at Isbanar.
The Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of the Burn and Trauma Centre, Thalassemia Center and Cardiology Unit at the District Headquarters Hospital Bat Khela, which will be estimated to cost Rs 1.212 billion.
Burn/trauma centre, thalassemia center and cardiology unit are the first facilities in the entire division, the chief minister said, adding that district Malakand has a population of around 0.721 million and districts of Dir Lower, Dir Upper, Bajaur and Swat have a population of 1.953 million. will be facilitated by the project.
Khan also laid the foundation stone of the Government Degree College and Public Library at Batkhela.
Addressing public gatherings in Adanzai and Batkhela, the Chief Minister said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is a “certified bandit” who has embezzled the funds of flood and earthquake victims.
Fazlur Rehman’s era is over and now his son is involved in making money by taking commissions on contracts and appointments and transfers of officers.
Expressing regret, the Chief Minister said that decisions are being made in London and a fugitive has been entrusted with the future of Pakistan. He said that the patriotic people of this country should have the right to decide the destiny of the nation.
Khan reiterated that the people of Malakand division would participate with full force in the “True Freedom March” to rid the country of incompetent rulers.
The Chief Minister said that his government believes in investing in human capital and several projects are being implemented for this purpose.
He said that despite the financial constraints created by the ‘imported’ government, development activities in the province are in full swing.
