Lowari Tunnel 4.54

Lowari Tunnel is a group of two partly completed road tunnels, 8.75km (5.4 mi) and 2km (1.2 mi) long, that traverse the Lowari Pass. The tunnels are located in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, and connect Dir and Chitral. Construction was partly completed by June, 2017, and officially opened to public on July 20th 2017 with work 85% complete. The tunnels provide residents of Chitral year-round road access to Pakistan, whereas they previously had to rely on transit through Afghanistan to reach the rest of Pakistan during the winter months.HistoryThe Lowari Tunnel was originally conceived in 1956 by the Government of Pakistan but there is no historical record to this claim. Recorded history shows that the Lowari Tunnel project idea was discussed in the National Assembly of Pakistan by the member from Chitral Attalique, Jafar Ali Shah, during 1972–1975. Work on the tunnel began on 8 September 1975, inaugurated by Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, but was stopped in 1976 on the pretext of lack of funds and other development priorities. Work on the tunnel did not restart until September 2005.BenefitsThe tunnel will reduce the current fourteen-hour drive from Chitral to Peshawar by 50%. The tunnel will also facilitate all-weather transportation, as during the long winter season the Lowari Pass is closed, and people of Chitral have to travel into Afghanistan and then back into Pakistan to reach the rest of the country. When the border is closed Chitral remains virtually inaccessible during the winter.