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Saturday, May 26, 2012
COAS inaugurates $12.6m bridge over Swat RiverISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Friday inaugurated the $12.6 million Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan Bridge over Swat River, which would greatly help in the development of the area.
The bridge was swept away by flash floods two years ago, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had then committed to fund the project, like many other development schemes being carried with its assistance across the country. A simple inauguration ceremony was organised at the scenic venue where the army chief cut the ribbon to open the bridge.
The ceremony was attended, among others, by Pakistan Works Organisation (PWO) Director Maj Gen Javed Mahmood Bukhari, UAE Ambassador to Islamabad Essa Abdullah al Basha al Noaimi, Pakistan Assistance Programme Director Abdullah Khalifa al Ghafli and senior officials of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The bridge was jointly built by a team of engineers from the UAE, Khalifa Charity Foundation, Engineer Division of Pakistan Army and the National Engineering Services Pakistan. The foundation stone of the project was laid in December 2010. The bridge is 330 metres long, 10 metres wide and six metres high, and can be described as one of the most visible landmarks of the UAE in the north-west region. Sheikh Khalifa Bridge would link a large number of cities and villages on the banks of Swat River. In his brief remarks on the occasion, the PWO director said the UAE government had generously donated funds for the facilities and infrastructure in Swat on a fast-track basis, as it was badly damaged during the flood two years ago. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk