Sambu co. offered Rs50m for continuing work on Lowari Tunnel

By Zulfiqar Ahmad



ISLAMABAD: The government has offered an amount of Rs50 million in addition to the project cost to the South Korean construction company working at the Lowari Tunnel to change its plan to wind up due to security concerns.
Initially, the total cost of the project was Rs8 billion but it was increased when the Korean company conveyed its apprehensions to the government that they had to abandon the project due to security concerns after the launch of military operation in Dir and other parts of Malakand division, sources told this reporter on Tuesday.
Resultantly, the government increased the project cost taking into account the security expenses and shifted the engineers and consultants of the company to Islamabad till normalization of the situation, sources revealed.
They said the company was going to suspend work at the tunnel permanently if the government did not take appropriate action on time.
“The company has also asked the government to arrange two choppers stationed on both sides of the tunnel to shift the manpower in case of any emergency,” sources said.
They further added that the government had assured foolproof security for the company’s workforce till work at the tunnel is completed.
The drilling at the 8.8KM long, 7.15 metres high and 7.55 meters wide tunnel has been completed, while rail track is being laid and the work will be completed by the end of the current year.