PESHAWAR, Feb 24: Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti is expected to give a formal go-ahead for the construction of a multi-billion rupees mega city near Peshawar by first week of March, a government official said.

Asfandyar City to be built over 14,000 acres at an estimated cost of Rs160 billion is being touted as the biggest housing scheme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“This will cater to our housing needs for the next two, three decades and will reduce pressure on Peshawar,” director general, Peshawar Development Authority, Qazi Mohammad Laiq told Dawn .

“It will include a medical city and an educational city. Planning will be done on modern lines. It is going to be the jewel of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he remarked.

The Planning and Development Department has approved its concept papers and a request has been made to the chief minister to convene a meeting to give it his approval, said Mr Laiq who expects the groundbreaking ceremony of Asfandyar City somewhere in June. “Asfandyar City will be bigger than Hayatabad and Regi Model Town put together,” he said.

REGI MODEL TOWN: The PDA DG said that part of the long-stalled Regi Model Town had been opened for construction work and an inaugural ceremony in this regard was planned on Feb 28. He said that all development work had been completed and plot owners could now start construction work in Zone-II. “Some people have already started constructing houses,” he said.

He claimed that other zones would soon be cleared for construction work. He said that final adjudication of the long-running boundary dispute with the Kukikhel Afridis would end after a legal battle in Peshawar High Court.

Mr Laiq said that the PDA had already paid Rs40 million to the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited on the court orders to provide gas to Regi town, but a federal government ban on new connections was coming in the way. The DG said he would request the chief minister to seek intervention of Prime Minister Gilani and reprieve for gas provision to the town.

He said that a police station, market and mosque had been built and further measures were being taken to beef up security in the town.

RING ROARD: Mr Laiq acknowledged that slow work on Ring Road, Peshawar, could cause delay of months, but denied that the PDA was responsible for it. He however, declined to comment on reasons for the delay.

The 16km road is being rehabilitated and expanded by adding one lane each on the dual carriageway with the help of narcotics affairs section (NAS) of the United States with a cost of Rs5 billion. Work began in March 2011 and was expected to be completed by August, but the slow work has irked those commuting between G.T. Road and Hayatabad.

A government official put the blame on NAS itself for refusing to let a consortium of more than one contractor undertake the project. “The volume of the work could not be undertaken by a single contractor alone,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

GULBAHAR FLYOVER: The PDA DG said that work on Gulbahar Flyover was expected to be completed ahead of Dec 2012 deadline. This, he said, would greatly address traffic issues on the main city artery. He said that the flyover would be opened to traffic by July.

The one-kilometre flyover costing Rs67 million would cost half the money spent on half as long flyover built in Lahore, Mr Laiq remarked. The 500-meter flyover in Lahore had cost Rs1.5 billion, he added.

He said the PDA had also identified 11 interchanges to be built in Peshawar to address traffic issues in the city.

MISSING LINK: Claiming credit for reviving the northern part of Peshawar Ring Road from Charsadda Road to Pachaggi to Warsak Road, Mr Laiq said he not only revived the project – which remained shelved for nearly 20 years – but was also able to save considerable amount of money through a legal battle with a group of claimants.

He said that the chief minister had promised to provide funds to undertake the project that would eventually link up with Jamrud Road, bypassing the northern fringe of Peshawar.