754-metres long Nahakki Tunnel in Mohmand to reduce distances, improve accessibility

PESHAWAR: In a remote part of Mohmand Agency, Pakistani engineers have built a beautiful 754-metres long tunnel that would cut distances and improve accessibility to Peshawar on the one side and Bajaur, Dir, Chitral and rest of Malakand division on the other.

The work on the Nahakki Tunnel, located in Halimzai tehsil of Mohmand Agency, was completed in August, but it was inaugurated on September 27 by Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Corps Commander Peshawar Lt General Nazir Ahmad Butt, and local officials and elected representatives were also present on the occasion.

The two-way tunnel, which is 8.1 metres wide, cuts through the mountain that forms part of the Nahakki Pass. It took a long time to negotiate the pass while driving on the road. The trucks transporting Mohmand Agency’s famed Ziarat Super White and other varieties of marble would now be able to reach destination in a lot less time.

The work on the Nahakki (also spelled as Nahqi) Tunnel started in 2014. The Frontier Works Organization (FWO) quietly made progress on the tunnel and was able to complete it without encountering any technical or security issue. The NESPAK was the consultant for the project.

The FWO is bearing the cost of the project, though it is unclear yet if the Pakistan Army or the federal government would eventually pay the bill.

The tunnel is part of the 45-kilometres long road linking Ghallanai, headquarters of Mohmand Agency, with Mohammad Ghat and due for completion by July 2018. There would be six bridges on this road. The FWO has completed 14 kilometres portion of the road and work is in full swing nowadays.

At the site of the tunnel, FWO workers and their Army officers were found busy doing their work. They were proud of their accomplishment and happy to narrate the benefits it would bring to the people in Mohmand and Bajaur agencies in Fata and also in Malakand division. As trucks laden with big rocks of marble slowly made the way on the old pass, the FWO officials pointed out that the journey through the tunnel once it is fully operational would be significantly reduced saving time and fuel.

The new road passing though the Nahakki Tunnel would be the shortest route from Chitral, Upper Dir, Lower Dir and Bajaur Agency to Peshawar. Presently, people take the longer Malakand Pass route to reach these districts in Malakand division.

Mahmood Aslam Wazir, political agent of Mohmand Afency, termed the Nahakki Tunnel an engineering feat and praised the Pakistani engineers for building it without any input from foreign consultants and companies. He said it is one of the major development projects for Fata and would generate economic activity and bring prosperity.

Tribesmen working in the mining business were excited that the Nahakki Tunnel has been completed and the Ghallanai-Mohammad Ghat road is nearing completion. “The Anbar Road has been in bad shape. This area is blessed by Allah as it produces the best quality Ziarat Super White and also grey, black and red marble, but transporting it was a challenge due to the dilapidated condition of the road,” commented Mohammad Alam. His businessman boss, Hamid Khan, consented as he felt their mining business was affected by the long time consumed in getting trucks to take the marble from Mohmand Agency to Charsadda, Peshawar and other destinations.

Mohmand Agency also has deposits of chromite and nephrite along with marble.

The tribesmen doing mining said on an average 100 trucks carrying marble left Mohmand Agency daily and took up to 16 hours to reach Peshawar due to the poor condition of the road. They pointed out that the truckers paid Rs2,000 per truck to the political administration of Mohmand Agency as tax and Rs1,500 to the Fata Secretariat at the roadside checkpoints. They estimated that 5,000 to 6,000 people secured jobs in the mining and trucking business and more would be gainfully employed once the new road was completed and the local economy received a boost.