Economy

In photos: the construction of Nahakki Tunnel in Mohmand Agency

Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa inaugurated the tunnel September 27.

By Alamgir Khan

2017-10-05

Construction work started on Nahakki Tunnel in Mohmand Agency in February 2014. [Alamgir Khan]

Engineers survey the under-construction Nahakki Tunnel in Mohmand Agency in April 2016. [Alamgir Khan]

Construction work continues in Nahakki Tunnel in Mohmand Agency in 2016. [Alamgir Khan]

Construction of Nahakki Tunnel ended in early 2017. [Alamgir Khan]

Nahakki Tunnel in Mohmand Agency is shown in early 2017. [Alamgir Khan]

A car passes through the under-construction Nahakki Tunnel in 2016. [Alamgir Khan]

Nahakki Tunnel in Mohmand Agency is shown from the outside in April 2017. [Alamgir Khan]

Amry officers brief Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra (left) about Nahakki Tunnel in April 2016. [Alamgir Khan]

HALIMZAI TEHSIL, Mohmand Agency -- Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa September 27 inaugurated Nahakki Tunnel and Ghalanai-Mohmand Gat Road in Mohmand Agency.

The 751-metre-long Nahakki Tunnel cost Rs. 2.4 billion ($23 million), according to Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).

The FWO completed the first phase of the project, 14km of the 41km Ghalanai-Mohmand Gat Road, while work on the remaining portion is in progress, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The project is meant to facilitate local travel and also enable trade with Afghanistan through Nawa Pass.

Newly inaugurated Nahakki Tunnel in Mohmand Agency is shown in September. [Alamgir Khan]

Bajwa thanked local tribes for their great support of the Pakistani army in getting rid of terrorists. Development projects are essential to achieving enduring peace and stability, he said.

"A 35-minute-long rough mountainous journey has been reduced to 4 minutes due to this tunnel," National Assembly member from Mohmand Agency Malik Bilal Rehman told Pakistan Forward October 3.

The tunnel will not only benefit residents of Mohmand and Bajaur agencies but also the marble industry of the area, he said.

The tunnel "will play a vital role in the development of the area", Malik Israel, a resident of Safi Tehsil, Mohmad Agency, told Pakistan Forward.