NAROWAL: Up to 40 per cent of construction work on the phased Kartarpur Corridor Project has been completed and with the launch of the corridor in nine months, Narowal will become an international city, say officials.

Construction work is underway round-the-clock on the corridor and extension of Guru Dwara Baba Guru Nanak, founder of Sikh religion, at village Kartarpur.

Under the project, construction of roads from the Gurdwara Baba Guru Nanak to Indo-Pak border, an immigration terminal and extension of the temple has been completed by 40 percent.

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The bed of a 1.10 km road has been completed from Gurdwara to the River Ravi whereas work on the construction of the .77 km bridge on the Ravi River is underway. Also, work on the 2.25 km road from the River Ravi to the border is also going on. Once Sikh pilgrims start coming to Kartarpur, a big city will come into being there.

The Narowal city is on 150 to 200 acres, whereas the district government has acquired 1,076 acres for the Kartarpur city on the directions of the federal government.

The district government has written to the Punjab government regarding the acquired land. After the consent of the Punjab government, the District Price Assessment Committee will determine land prices while the federal government will foot the bill.

According to sources, a new road will be constructed from Kartarpur to Karalan Wali Railway Crossing to be linked with the Sialkot airport.

The Sikh pilgrims landing at the Sialkot airport can arrive in Kartarpur within an hour. More than 300 labourers are working day and night at project sites amid tight security. After the completion of the Kartarpur Corridor Project, Sikh yatrees all over the world will easily arrive in the city to offer their religious rites.

Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of Kartarpur Corridor Project on Nov 28, 2018.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2019