HARIPUR: The construction of Hazara Motorway (E-35), which is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, has suffered three months delay with experts fearing escalation of the project’s cost.

Commissioner of Hazara division Syed Zaheerul Islam insisted that the delay was caused by 40-plus meters deep gorges on the motorway’s strip between Shah Maqsood interchange and Havelian interchange.

After visiting the Shah Maqsood-Havelian section of the motorway, he said engineers were striving to complete work on three culverts and two long bridges on time but it would be delayed for three months due to the five kilometers long difficult terrain from Shah Maqsood and Havelian Maira interchange.

“The deep gorges have made it unlikely for the construction companies to meet the June 15 deadline for work completion,” he said.

Mr Zaheer said the Shah Maqsood-Havelian section would be ready within two months but its opening was likely to cause traffic mess in Abbottabad city in the summer season due to the influx of tourists.

Experts fear escalation of project cost

”We have decided to open all three interchanges including Havelian and Mangal in Abbottabad and Baidadi in Mansehra on Aug 14 simultaneously to facilitate road users,” he said.

The commissioner said work on Havelian-Baidadi section of the motorway was in full swing and would be completed by August, while the Baidadi-Thakot section would be ready by next year.

Work on the 180km Burhan-Thakot Hazara Motorway was inaugurated on Nov 29, 2014, by the then premier, Nawaz Sharif.

Ninety per cent of the project is funded by the Asian Development Bank in the form of a loan, while rest of the cost is being borne by the federal government.

The 47km Burhan-Shah Maqsood section was opened to traffic on Dec 27, 2017, while the March 2019 deadline was set for the completion of work on 12km Shah Maqsood-Havelian Maira section but the National Highway Authority revised it to June 15.

The experts insist that delay in the work’s completion coupled with rupee devaluation will increase the project’s cost.

The residents of Hazara division’s major districts, including Haripur, Abbottabad and Mansehra, resented the delay and demanded the early construction of the motorway.

They said the motorway would help ease traffic mess on Karakorum Highway and other roads, reduce distance between Islamabad and Havelianand upper parts of Hazaradivision, and improve socio-economic conditions in the region.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2019