Lowari Tunnel (, ''Lowari Surang'') consists of two separate tunnels, and the combined length of both tunnels is 10.4 kilometers (6.5 miles). It is a vehicular

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

under the Lowari Pass of the Hindu Kush mountains, between Dir and

Chitral Chitral () is a city situated on the Kunar River, Chitral River in northern area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Lower Chitral District, and was previously the capital of Chitral District, and before ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

province of Pakistan. The tunnel effectively bypassed Pakistan's reliance on Afghanistan to reach

region. It is operated by the National Highway Authority and carries traffic on the N-45 National Highway, thus bypassing Lowari Pass. Construction was partly completed by June 2017. By late 2018, the tunnel was open to vehicular traffic for at least ten hours per day. The total cost of the tunnel was . The tunnel is one of the longest tunnels in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, and is the longest in Pakistan, superseding the Khojak Tunnel in 2018.

History

Originally conceived as a railway tunnel, construction began in September 1975 and was inaugurated by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

. However, less than a year later work stopped in 1976 due to non allocation of funds. Construction resumed in September 2005 by

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

Govt, and the tunnel was initially expected to be completed by 2009; with conversion into a vehicle road tunnel. This is one of the mega highway projects initiated in 2005 during the government of

. But work was stopped at times due to a shortage of funds, and at others due to a change in design and security reasons. Work on the new plan started in 2013 and the project was completed in 2017.

Benefit

* The tunnel essentially allows traffic on the N45 National Highway to bypass the Lowari Pass and reduces the 14 hour drive between

and Peshawar to only 7 hours. * The tunnel also facilitates all-weather transportation, as during the long winter season the Lowari Pass is closed, and travelers to and from Chitral used to travel into Kunar, Afghanistan and then back into Pakistan to access the rest of the country. * Lower tunnel has effectively bypassed Pakistan's reliance on Afghanistan to access Chitral region. * The tunnel is facilitating economic development in the

Chitral district Chitral District (; ) was a district in the Malakand Division of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from 14 August 1947 to 2018. It was the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, covering an area of 14,850 km2, before spl ...

, as of late 2018.

References

https://www.chitraltoday.net/2020/02/09/lowari-tunnel-a-blessing-for-chitral/ https://www.chitraltoday.net/2017/06/lowari-tunnel-ready-for-opening-at-last/ https://www.chitraltoday.net/2015/01/pm-orders-yearly-increase-of-rs-6-billion-for-lowari-tunnel/

External links

*http://chitraltoday.net/work-on-tunnel-gains-momentum/
Lowari tunnel work in full swingNational Highways Authority: Development Projects
{{Clear Tunnels in Pakistan Lower Chitral District Upper Dir District Road tunnels in Pakistan Tunnels completed in 2017