Peshawar –D I Khan Motorway to bring economic prosperity in KP

ISLAMABAD, Mar 15 (APP):Peshawar–Dera Ismail Khan Motorway will bring social and economic prosperity in Khyber Pakhunkhwa (KP), as it will connect all southern districts of KP and an interchange will also connect Balochistan with KP too.

Peshawar-Dera Ismail Khan (DIK) Motorway has a length of 360 kilometres and comprises of six lanes and 19 interchanges at various points. The motorway also has two tunnels of seven kilometres length each.

Ex-MNA and currently Chairman National Commission for Human Development Col (Retd) Amirullah Khan Marwat termed Peshawar-D I Khan Motorway an excellent project for the southern districts of KP. He said that tribal belt would also include in the connectivity which would bring prosperity in erstwhile FATA merged districts as well.

He expressed the hope that KP government would allocate funds for the land procurement in upcoming budget.

MPA from Dera Ismail Khan Faisal Amin Khan Gandapur expressed the hope that Peshawar-D I Khan Motorway will pave the way for development of southern districts of the province. He said that Peshawar-D I Khan Motorway would be a game changer for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa especially for the development of southern districts.

Faisal Amin Khan said that better connectivity means more economic opportunities, harnessing huge agriculture potential of D I Khan with CRBC lift cum gravity canal and small dams can ensure food security in these districts. He said that this project would also reduce the travel distance from Peshawar to Southern KP, South and North Waziristan merged districts.

Senior Journalist Tahir Khan while talking to APP said that this project would bring development and welfare to areas that remained underdeveloped for so long. He said that connectivity would automatically bring with it the rest of the infrastructure people need like jobs, schools, health facilities and markets.

“For example, tomato growers in Tank district and date farmers in Dhakki, D I Khan would get direct access to main markets of the country”, he said.

Senior journalist from Tank Adam Khan said that Peshawar-D I Khan Motorway is one of the good initiatives by the provincial government of KP. He said that these areas remained neglected during previous governments, adding that this project not only bring prosperity in Southern KP, but also provide easy accessibility to Peshawar and other cities of KP.

According to officials, the project has an estimated cost of Rs276 billion and it is expected to be completed within four years. The mega project not only promises better connectivity of the region with the rest of the province but will also integrate the merged districts with the main business centres of the province.

The motorway will begin from Chamkani area of Peshawar, pass through Darra Adamkhel, Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Tank, and end in Dera Ismail Khan.