SWABI: The Pehur High Level Canal Extension Project (PHLCEP) is expected to be completed in the next few months at a cost of Rs19 billion, sources in the irrigation and communication and works departments told Dawn here on Saturday.

The project is being executed with the financial support of the Asian Development Bank, aiming to irrigate the arid lands in various regions of the district, especially in Chota Lahor tehsil.

When contacted, an official of the irrigation department told Dawn on condition of anonymity: “The project has entered the final stage of completion, which will irrigate 250,000 kanals of land and provide employment opportunities to 36,000 people, while boosting the wheat and tobacco production.

“The canal’s extension will make Khyber Pakhtunkhwa self-sufficient in grain requirements,” the official said.

He recalled that it was the then senior minister Sikandar Sherpao of Qaumi Watan Party, who had announced the extension of the canal during a visit to the district in December 2014. Later, as QWP parted ways with then Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government the project was ‘shelved’.

When contacted, Abdul Karim, adviser to the chief minister on industries, commerce and technical education, said: “Our mission is to ensure uninterrupted water supply to the farmers in arid regions of the district.”

“We worked hard for a long time, and succeeded in getting the PHLCEP approved with the support of ADB,” he added.

Sources said that the extension project had been divided into four phases, and that first two phases had already been completed, which would help irrigate different areas of Swabi tehsil and Shammansoor Mira areas.

They said under the phase three, a pipeline would be laid from Baja village to Chota Lahor tehsil, and this phase would be completed by June 30.

“A bypass is also being built, which would solve the traffic problems in Swabi city. Over 70,000 kanals of land in Jalbai Mira and Mughalki areas of Swabi and Nandrak Mira area of Nowshera district would be brought under cultivation under the phase four of the canal extension project, the sources said.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2025