MANSEHRA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government have released Rs18 billion for a gravity-flow water supply scheme and work on that mega project is likely to begin next week.

“The chief minister is scheduled to visit here on May 6 to inaugurate this major water supply scheme, as both the provincial government and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have released the funds,” Babar Saleem Swati, speaker of KP Assembly, told reporters here on Friday.

He said that the project had been approved after years of effort and those funds had now been secured for its execution. “People have long been facing a shortage of potable water. Since I was elected an MPA in the previous government, I have been striving for this project, which has now materialised,” Mr Swati said.

Flanked by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf provincial deputy president Kamal Saleem Swati, he added that the government had also approved Rs1 billion for the development of a recreational facility at Kotkay Dam near Mansehra city.

“We have also approved Rs180 million for a graveyard, Rs970 million for the upgradation of Thakra Stadium and Rs300 million for tube-wells and other schemes to meet the emergency water needs of the city and its suburbs,” Mr Swati said.

He added that the chief minister would inaugurate these schemes and also announce the creation of Tanawal tehsil.

“The chief minister will also lay the foundation stones of a boys’ degree college, the administration block of Hazara University and a high-tech laboratory at King Abdullah Teaching Hospital during his visit,” Mr Swati said.

He further said that the Basic Health Unit in Sandysar would be upgraded to a Rural Health Centre to provide improved healthcare services to the local population.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2026