ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA) Maj-Gen Farrukh Javed said on Saturday that work on Lowari tunnel will start in almost six months from now.

Speaking in a PTV programme he said: “It is our target to start work on the Lowari tunnel project in six months’ time.”

The NHA chairman said funds for Lowari tunnel have been allocated and its construction will be completed in four years.

He said an initial grant of Rs700 million had already been approved for the project.

Gen Javed said that the total cost of the project would be around Rs6 billion of which Rs2.5 billion would be in foreign exchange and Rs3.5 billion in local currency.

The Lowari tunnel project has been included in the government’s five-year development programme, he added.

He said in the past 30 years, on various occasions work on this project was started, but due to lack of proper planning and funds it could not be completed.

This time the NHA is looking into all aspects of the project in order to finish it as soon as possible so that people of Chitral can be facilitated and it remained connected year-round with other parts of the country.

He said pre-qualification tender of the project had been published and any local and foreign company can apply.

“We want to include international firms alongside local contractors for the construction of the project, so, atmosphere of competition can be created,” he added.

He said presently there was no hurdle in the way of the project and the NHA is committed to complete the project in time.

He said that the NHA was also studying a feasibility report on other roads linking Chitral.—APP