KOHAT: Newly-elected MPA Shafi Jan said on Tuesday said that he would use the oil and gas royalty funds to ensure speedy reconstruction of the Liaquat Memorial Hospital, whose dilapidated building was razed in 2019, but work couldn’t start on the new structure till date.

Talking to reporters here, he said the hospital catered to the healthcare needs of patients from Kohat, Karak, Hangu, Orakzai, Kurram and the tribal subdivision of Darra Adamkhel.

He said that no contractor was ready to execute the project with the allocated budget.

Then chief minister Pervez Khattak had inaugurated the work on the hospital in 2018 at a cost of Rs1.20 billion.

It may be mentioned here that a very negligible budget had been reserved for its reconstruction in 2023, which was rejected by the contractors, who demanded allocations according to the spiraling prices of construction material.

Shafi Jan said that all the roads in Kohat city would be reconstructed as their bad condition was troubling the commuters. He also promised resolving the water shortage problem.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2024