KOHAT, May 10: The inauguration of Kohat Tunnel, completed at a cost of more than Rs5 billion and ready for commissioning since April, has been postponed for a third time owing to a delayed selection of staff required for operating certain gadgets, an official said.

Project director Pervez Gul told Dawn on Saturday that a team of Japanese technicians had arrived to train the NHA staff on how tunnel gadgets should be operated, delaying the opening by one month.

He expected that the tunnel would be opened for traffic in mid-June and added that Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali would perform the inauguration. However, he said, the Prime Minister’s House had yet to confirm the date of inauguration.

He said the tunnel could not be opened for traffic unless the trained staff took charge of the fire-fighting equipment, generators and other installations.

Meanwhile, the NHA director (operations), who visited the project last week, has ordered the completion of the Hangu link road by June 15 so that the project could become fully operative.