Prime Minister Imran Khan has inaugurated three tunnels at Swat motorway. The inauguration of these tunnels signifies the completion of the first phase of Swat motorway.
The PM was received by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and Director General of Frontier Works Organization Major General Kamal Azfar on his arrival. While briefing the prime ministerabout the swat motorway DG FWO said that the 80-km-long Swat Motorway had seven interchanges and three tunnels with length of 1266, 271 and 324 meters.
With the completion of Swat Motorway the travel time has been significantly reduced for commuters, especially tourists and traders. It also benefits the entire Malakand Division comprising Swat, Dir Lower, Dir Upper, Chitral Lower, Chitral Upper, Bajaur, Buner and Shangla districts. The time of journey between Swat and Peshawar, the provincial capital, has been reduced to nearly two hours
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has now approved acquisition of 10,000 kanals of land for the Swat Motorway Phase-II, which would be constructed from Chakdara to Fatehpur Madayn with an estimated cost of Rs 37 billion, besides Rs 20 billion cost of land.
As travelling to these tourist hotspots becomes more convenient the tourism industry is bound to be stimulated through local and international tourism. While referring to the revenue generated through tourism in other countries PM Imran Khan said that Malaysia was earning about $20 billion, Turkey $40 billion and Switzerland from $60 billion to $80 billion from tourism. If proper attention is paid towards developing the northern areas of Pakistan, including Gilgit Baltistan and KP, these beautiful places have the potential to compete with any international tourist spot all across the globe.
