Three more highways included in CPEC

By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai

ISLAMABAD: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s (CPEC) Joint Working Group on Transport Infrastructure included three more highways in the corridor project.
According to the National Highway Authority (NHA), it was 8th meeting of JWG on transport and infrastructure and it is expected that the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting of the CPEC, which is the biggest forum to decide about CPEC, will be held next month. The three projects included in the CPEC by JWG were: Construction of a motorway from Peshawar to D.I. Khan (320KM), Swat Expressway from Chakdara to Fatehpur, Phase-II (182KM) and Dir Expressway (30KM).
An official press release said that Pakistan side gave briefing on the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project, Karachi Circular Railway, Peshawar Circular Railway and Quetta Mass Transit Project. Similarly, Chitral-Shandoor-Gilgit, Nokundi-Mashkhel-Panjgur and Mirpur-Muzaffarabad-Mansehra projects were also brought under discussion.
The meeting was held via video link at Ministry of Communications. Besides Federal Secretary of Communications Zafar Hasan, Vice Minister of China on Transport DAI Dongchang, Deputy Director General for International Cooperation of China Shan Hongjun and Chairman of National Highway Authority Sikander Qayyum also participated in the meeting.