PRT-funded bridge inaugurated in Nangarhar

JALALABAD (PAN): A 300-metre-long bridge, costing $6.5 million, was inaugurated in the Lalpura district of eastern Nangarhar province on Tuesday, officials said.

Governor Gul Agha Sherzai, district chiefs, local officials and tribal elders attended the inaugural ceremony for the bridge on the confluence of Kunar and Kabul rivers.

The US Provincial Reconstruction)-funded project — connecting Kama, Goshta and Mohmand Dara districts with Shinwari and Kabul-Torkham highway — would resolve the problems of 500,000 people, Sherzai told journalists.

He promised up to 150 kilometres of roads would be asphalted in the province next solar year, with $500,000 earmarked for the construction riverside picnic spots and eateries.

An engineer at the PRT, Qamar Zaman, said the bridge with 36 pillars and a lifespan of 100 years, had the capacity to absorb 80 tonnes of weight. The project, which was to be completed two years ago, was delayed due to a rise in water level.

A tribal elder, Haji Sardar Khan, said area residents had donated land for the bridge. He praised the provincial administration for executing the project.

mm/mud