MANSEHRA: A Chinese company working on the Suki Kanari hydropower project on Saturday restored traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan by repairing the Ayub Bridge in Balakot, which had dislocated last week.

The bridge had moved from its original place on Sept 26, suspending traffic on the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road, which links Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and GB.

Thereafter, the Chinese company working on the 800-megawatt project moved its heavy machinery to the area and made the bridge functional again.

A ceremony about the bridge’s reopening was held in Balakot, where Chinese engineers, traders and people were in attendance.

The company’s representative, Queen, said her organisation repaired the bridge voluntarily as Chinese people loved Pakistan and its people very much.

She said her company and others had been sincerely working for the development of Pakistan.

“The Pakistan-China friendship is perpetual and will never grow weaker,” she said.

Mohammad Imran of the National Highway Authority praised the Chinese company for restoring the traffic on Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road by repairing the bridge voluntarily.

“We are thankful to the Chinese company for enabling us (NHA) to reopen traffic within a short span of time,” he said.

Mr Imran said the Ayub Bridge built in 1969 had developed cracks in the 2005 earthquake but they were later fixed and thus, making the bridge operational.

The tourists, who had struggled to move out of Kaghan valley after the closure of the bridge, left for their hometowns in the day.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2017