According to a National Highway Authority official, approximately 83% of progress has been made on the 167 km strategic road Skardu-Jaglot Road (S-1) improvement, upgrade, and expansion.
In this regard, the official said that ECNEC approved the project on July 10, 2017, and the revised cost would be 32.325 billion. He added that Rs 2 billion had been set aside for the task in the PSDP 2022-2023 during the current fiscal year. The project has been designated to Frontier Works Organization (FWO), which laid the initial track in 1984, the official remarked.
NHA official further said that the Jaglot-Skardu road, a major link between the Karakoram Highway and Skardu, has a blacktop width of 3.66 metres. The difficult terrain features heavy snowfall and significant rock sliding, according to an NHA official. He stated that its improvement would improve the road ride for both locals and tourists by expanding the width of the road from 3.6 to 7.3 metres and reducing the sharp curves. The project is expected to be finished by September 2021.
In another development, NHA has been working hard to restore traffic flow on Balochistan province’s highways following the heavy snowfall. According to a statement issued by the Federal Minister for Communications and Postal Services Asad Mehmood, Chairman NHA Captain (R) Muhammad Khurram Agha made an urgent visit to Balochistan to review rehabilitation measures.
Meanwhile, General Manager Inayatullah Agha informed the chairman of the Chaman-Quetta highway rehabilitation measures.
He stated that restoration work in the Chaman Quetta portion of N-25 is progressing quickly and that all necessary equipment is on-site. The chairman has been notified that Member West Zone Shahid Ehsanullah and other staff members are working diligently to resolve the situation.
In addition, the chairman of the NHA praised the staff’s efforts on the rehabilitation measures that kept the national highways open despite the massive snowfall.