KOHAT: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved a Rs800 million road expansion project for Kohat city to address traffic issues.

The road, currently divided by temporary barriers to ensure traffic flow, will be dualised, according to chief traffic warden Arab Jan.

Earlier, an overhead bridge was to be built on the road but that plan has been changed.

Chairman of the Grand Business Alliance Haji Abid Khan and Awami National Party president Masood Khan Khalil told Dawn that Rs800 million was sanctioned for widening the main artery from Martyrs Square to PAF Square, with the amount being the same as announced in 2014.

They said that prices of construction material had gone through the roof since then.

Residents welcomed the project, saying that it will help ease traffic mess in the area, especially in the morning, afternoon and the evening.

However, some shopkeepers have voiced reservations about the project.

Khalid, a local garment trader, told Dawn that he bought his multi-story shop along the road for Rs160 million three and a half years ago but it had been marked for removal.

He insisted that if shops and markets in the area were pushed back from their current position for road expansion, they would be left with little space to do business.

Officials said that the project would improve traffic flow in Kohat’s commercial hub to the relief of all road users and pedestrians.

They said that shops, markets and other structures on both sides of the road would be “relocated in a regulated and planned manner”.

Elected public representatives declared the project a major milestone for Kohat’s infrastructure development and beautification.

They said that they would ensure transparency and quality in all projects besides timely completion.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2026