ISLAMABAD, Feb 13: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) will have to spend over Rs1 billion on the construction of a proposed tunnel through Margalla Hills to link Islamabad with Hazara division, experts who had worked on Kohat Tunnel project told Dawn.

The experts said the project's exact cost could only be estimated after a survey. However, the length of the tunnel would be at least 500 metres which requires a minimum of Rs1 billion for construction, they added.

They said the cost of the project could go up to Rs2 billion in case of technical problems. The CDA is contemplating to construct the tunnel on the directives of President Gen Pervez Musharraf and the federal cabinet.

The president in a recently held meeting on expansion of Convention Centre had asked CDA Chairman Kamran Lashari about the progress on the tunnel project. "The president has shown keen interest in the construction of the tunnel and directed the CDA to prepare a feasibility report as early as possible," Mr Lashari told Dawn.

He said the idea was too good and beneficial for the expansion of the city. However, it is too early to say anything about start of work on the project, he added. The chairman said various options about the project were being studied and technical experts would be consulted before start of work on this gigantic project.

Earlier, the plan regarding construction of tunnel were floated by Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan in a meeting of the federal cabinet.

He quoted Mr Khan as saying that the construction of the tunnel was also proposed in the capital's master plan. "With the construction of the tunnel, people on either sides would benefit from each other's resources," the CDA chairman said.

He said the other side of Margalla Hills (Hazara division) where the native village of former president Ayub Khan also fell, was a backward area, adding that after construction of the proposed tunnel, this area could also be developed in a planned way. Similarly, the people of Islamabad would also get advantages of agriculture and other resources of Hazara division.