PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has released Rs7 billion for the construction of the Swat Motorway Phase-2 project.
The provincial government is constructing the project under Public Private Partnership (PPP) for which it has signed an agreement with the construction firm, ZKB. The project’s construction will cost PKR 38bn of which the company will spend PKR 24bn while the provincial will provide PKR 14bn.
It may be mentioned here that the KP Finance Department had rejected the provision of funds for the project, citing the province’s current financial difficulties. The department had also added that various systems have been disrupted by floods in most of the districts, requiring billions of rupees to restore. According to sources in the Finance Department, the KP government is facing a financial deficit of PKR 20 billion.
However, the provincial government instructed the Finance Department to release the funds to the construction firm, including a loan of PKR 2 billion.
The Swat Motorway Phase-2 will be under the control of the construction firm for 30 years, according to the agreement. After 11 years, the company will give the provincial government a 10% share of the profit earned from toll plazas.
