peshawar   -   Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan on Friday reviewed progress so far made on different projects including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Roads Improvement Project, Integrated Tourism Development Project and Rural Roads Development Project.

The Chief Minister was presiding over a meeting to review progress on various projects of roads sector including access roads to tourist destinations. The meeting also made some important decisions to address the issues impeding physical progress on some projects.

Secretary Tourism Aamir Tareen, Secretary Environment and Forestry Abid Majeed, Secretary Communications and works Ijaz Ansari and other relevant senior officials attended the meeting. The meeting was told that, under the Provincial Roads Improvement Project, rehabilitation and construction of 9 different roads is almost complete.

These roads include Shah Alam to Sardaryab Road, Umerzai to Harichand Road, Risalpur to Jehangira Road, Khairabad to Nizampur Road, Aadina to Yar Hussain Road, Sang-e-Mar Mar eastern and western bypass roads, Maqsooda to Kohala Road and Haripur-Hattar Taxila Road. It was further told that so far over Rs14.4 billion had been spent on these projects.

It was informed that 34km long Kalam-Mataltan-Mahodand Road had also been included in provincial roads project. Besides, 65 percent civil work had been completed on dualization of Swabi-Mardan Road and the project would be completed by December this year. So far Rs4.4 billion have been spent on the dualization project. The meeting was informed that, under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Roads Development Project rehabilitation of 1337km district roads would be carried out besides the construction of 62 bridges.

Moreover, under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development Project progress was being made on construction and rehabilitation of access roads to six tourism destinations in Hazara division and 11 roads to tourism sites in Malakand division.

Similarly, work on access road to historic tourist site Sheikh Badin was also underway. Moreover, financial opening of 24km Thandiyani Road and 22km Mankiyal Road would be completed by the end of April. The Chief Minister on the occasion termed timely completion of the projects as one of the priority areas and directed the quarters concerned to take concrete steps for early completion of those projects without compromising the quality of work.