PESHAWAR, July 5: The NWFP wildlife department will complete the first phase of establishment of a wildlife park in Cherat by August.

An official of the wildlife department said 70 per cent work on the project had been completed.

He said the Rs38 million project had been proposed by the army and prepared by the NWFP wildlife department. An amount of Rs18.7 million will be spent in the first phase.

Cherat, a hilly area located 50 kilometres from Peshawar, is an army-controlled area. The mountains in the range have an altitude ranging from 250 metres to 1,535 metre.

The official said the objective of the project was to save wild species, which had been declared endangered, from extinction.

There are four wildlife parks in the NWFP – Tanda, Kotal, Togh Mangah and Manglot – and the Cherat park will be the fifth one.

In the first stage, a fence will be erected around an area of 50 kilometres in the Cherat hills.

The project also includes establishment of six watch posts, three small dams for storing water and forestation to further improve the habitat.

The project will be completed in three years.—APP