MANSEHRA: A Chinese company executing the Suki Kanari hydropower project on Wednesday opened an alternative section of the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road to traffic in Kaghan valley.

The K-4 Section of the key artery was jointly inaugurated by a group of Chinese engineers and officials.

The road’s 5km abandoned section, which was in dilapidated condition, will be inundated by the dam, Zaid Ahmad Shah of the Suki Kanari power project told Dawn.

He said the road project would reduce KP-GB travel time.

Mr Shah said the power initiative was being executed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.

“A three-kilometer MNJ Road section, including half a kilometer long tunnel, is open to traffic, while the rest will take almost two months to complete,” he said.

Deputy director for technical affairs of the Suki Kanari project Bilal Khan told Dawn that work on the dam was in full swing, so power production was likely to begin next June.

The Chinese company working on the Suki Kanari hydropower project has also announced scholarships for deserving students.

The scholarships will be given away through the district administration in medical, engineering and other disciplines with top priority being given to the children of dam-hit families followed first by students of Balakot tehsil and then by those from other parts of Mansehra district, according to a news release issued by the administration.

Meanwhile, the Frontier Works Organisation and Wapda workers on Wednesday reconstructed part of the Karakoram Highway that was washed away in flash floods in Upper Kohistan district.

The development led to the restoration of traffic on the highway in Sazeen area.

A Chinese company executing the Dasu hydropower project helped the FWO and Wapda complete work, according to Upper Kohistan deputy commissioner Irfanullah Mehsud.

He appreciated the FWO and Wapda for rebuilding the KKH in short time.

Mr Mehsud told Dawn that hill torrents washed away a KKH portion in Lachi Nullah area the other day, so the FWO moved its personnel and machines to the area to rebuild the highway.

He said the Wapda sent in a team along with heavy machinery for speedy work at his request otherwise it would have taken two more days to complete.

The DC appreciated general manager of the Dasu hydropower project Anwarul Haq for dispatching a team of Chinese engineers and personnel along with machinery to the KKH to help with reconstruction.

He said the traffic was diverted from the KKH to the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road via the Kaghan valley but it had been restored.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2023