Pakistan's PM Imran Khan inaugurates UAE-funded Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road in Pakistan

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Road in the Mohmand district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province on Monday. The 42-km road was built in the remote mountainous region at the cost of Dh106million by the UAE Pakistan Assistance Programme, UAE-PAP, and financed by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.

The opening of the road was organised on the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan; and the support of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; and the follow up of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, as part of the UAE’s continuous support to Pakistan, Wam reported.

Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa with notables after inauguration of Sheikh Zayed Road in District Mohmand. Ambassador of UAE in Pakistan H.E. Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Al-Zaabi is also present. Speaking at the ceremony, Imran said: “I want to express my sincere thanks to the UAE, especially Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, for building this important road in the remote area of the country. “The project in Mohmand is a gift to the people of the region built in collaboration with the UAE Government,” Imran Khan said. Addressing the notables at the ceremony, Imran expressed confidence that the construction of road infrastructure in the tribal districts will promote both tourism and trade. He said the road infrastructure will connect the tribal districts with the rest of the country.

Abdullah Khalifa Al Ghafli, Director of the UAE-PAP, highlighted the importance of building the road, saying it is one of the largest and most important modern development projects that have been implemented in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. The road connects nine cities and six villages, and will be used by more than 627,000 people. Its width spans 9.3 metres, and includes a tunnel and nine intersecting bridges and a drainage system to protect against torrential waters.

The road will contribute to improving transportation routes through a safe highway that links cities and villages that were previously unconnected due to their rugged mountainous geographical nature. It will also help to ease and speed up the transportation of goods, agricultural, mineral and animal products and building materials from the region to the main distribution centres in Pakistan, thus boosting the local economy.

It took extensive and exceptional efforts to complete works on the road due to the harsh climate and mountainous terrain.

Following the inauguration, the Pakistani Prime Minister unveiled the memorial plaque and led a tour of patrons and guests on the built road, bridges, tunnels and water channels. The tour concluded with a memorial photo taken of the work teams and engineers involved in the project who were also honoured with commemorative shields.