KOHAT, Sept 18: NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has said that the funds for the much-delayed Lowari Tunnel project had been sanctioned and the work on the project would start soon.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a link road and a by-pass, a part of the Kohat Tunnel Project, here on Wednesday, the governor announced that Islamabad would be connected with Afghanistan through dual Rawalpindi-Kurram Agency road which would boost economic activity in the region besides making the journey comfortable.

He said that the Khushalgarh bridge, which had been constructed on the Indus River about 130 years ago, needed to be replaced but the issue of Kalabagh Dam was delaying its construction.

He ordered the construction of the bridge and said: “The Kalabagh, which is a technical issue, has been turned into a political one and why should the people suffer for it? If the issue is resolved it will take 15 years to complete the Kalabagh dam. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the dangerous bridge now,” the governor declared.

He thanked the National Highway Authority for taking up the projects of vital national interest which would play an important role in the development of the country.

NHA Chairman Maj-Gen Farrukh Javed briefed the participants about the ongoing and accomplished projects. He said that the link road would connect the Kotal Tunnel with the Hangu bypass and cut down the distance between Peshawar and Parachinar.

Similarly, he said, the commuters travelling between Rawalpindi and the NWFP’s southern parts would benefit from the Jarma bypass which would connect Rawalpindi road with Bannu road.

Mr Tahir Rasheed, federal secretary of communication, said that the work on the M1, Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway, would start within the next two months.

He said, the NHA would compensate the contractors who had suffered due to the withdrawal of the Turkish company Bayinder.

The NHA would pay more than one billion rupees to the contractors to get the project completed as soon as possible, he said.