PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Highways Council has approved the annual budget for Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority (PKHA) for the year 2022-23 to be placed before the provincial cabinet for final approval.
The overall estimated budget of PKHA for the current fiscal year is Rs19.414-billion. The council met here on Monday with Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan in the chair. Provincial Minister for Environment and Forestry Ishtiaq Umar, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Amjad Ali Khan, Secretary C and W Idrees Khan, Managing Director PKHA Ahmad Nabi Sultan and other members of the council attended the meeting.
The Pakhtunkhwa Highways Council also approved the maintenance plan of PKHA 2022-23 for the maintenance and rehabilitation of different highways at an estimated cost of Rs1722-million in order to ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic. Moreover, the council approved provincialisation of different roads and the creation of various new posts for the strengthening of PKHA.
The forum was also briefed in detail about new schemes of PKHA reflected in the Provincial Annual Development Program for the year 2022-23 and it was informed that a total of five new schemes have been included in ADP.
These schemes include; construction of approach roads to Kalur Kot bridge at Indus River, construction of road from Madyan to Kalam, construction of RCC bridge on DI Khan Darya Khan Road, dualization of road from Indus highway to Bannu City and construction of Shaheeda sar to Etay Khwar; Sar Kala to Bar Teraj road; improvement of Btara to Shangra Road in District Buner.
Similarly, construction of 61 km long road from Barang (Bajaur) to Swat Motorway has also been included in the AIP, which will be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 5000 million. The Chief Minister, on the occasion, also sought detailed reports from quarters concerned regarding utilization of development funds during the previous fiscal year and directed them to ensure completion of all ongoing schemes within stipulated timelines.
Addressing the participants, he said the provincial government is spending huge resources on the development of road infrastructure to improve the overall communications network and provide state of the art transport facilities for the public. He added that a number of initiatives have been taken in this regard to make the province a transit hub in the region and provide a conducive environment for national and regional trade.