National Highway Authority (NHA) has been striving to construct highways and motorways network in less developed areas of the country to bring them at par with the developed areas.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), it has been working on over a dozen road infrastructure projects to bring them at par with he developed areas, an official of NHA told APP on Friday.

He said the ongoing NHA projects in the province would open new vistas of opportunities for the people of the adjacent areas and end sense of deprivation among the people of far flung areas of the country.

Giving details of the allocations made for NHA projects under the Public Sector Development Programme in the current fiscal year he said Rs. 1,000 million have been allocated for the construction of 67 km Chitral – Garam Chashma Road.

He said an amount of Rs. 1,000 million has also been allocated for the construction of 48 km Chitral-Bumborate road. Moreover, he said Rs3,000 million have been earmarked for construction of a 62 km expressway from Besham to Khwaza Khela while Rs4,000 million have been set aside for construction of a 133 km expressway from Chakdara to Kalam.

He said Rs. 3,000 million have been allocated for dualization of Gandhi Chowk to Sarai Norang and Domail to Rangeenabad section of Indus Highway. Rs. 4,215.64 million have been earmarked for Lowari Tunnel and its access roads. He said Rs300 million have been allocated for construction of Malakand Tunnel on Nowshera-Chitral Highway (N-45). For improvement and widening of 141 km Chakdara-Chitral section of N-45,Rs 950 km have been earmarked while for metelling of road linking Chitral and Gilgit Rs200 million have been set aside.

The NHA official said for rehabilitation of existing carriageways of Indus Highway between Peshawar and DI Khan, Rs500 million have been earmarked. Similarly, he said, Rs1,500 million have been allocated for rehabilitation of DI Khan-Mughalkot section of N-50. A total of Rs2,750 million have been allocated for rehabilitation of NHA highways network damaged in 2010 monsoon rains and flash floods in the country. Chakdara-Kalam Highway, Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad-Chilas road and Razmak- Peshawar road in the KP are being rehabilitated under this account.

The Rs50 million each have been allocated for feasibility study of Japan-Kalingi Pandeghai road in Lower Dir and widening and carpeting of Terich to Lot Owir with four bridges in Chitral district, he said.