ISLAMABAD
Pakistan’s federal government has once again pushed back the completion of the Peshawar Northern Bypass, a road project that has been in limbo for 17 years. Despite an offer from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province to provide Rs 4 billion in immediate “bridge financing” to speed up the work, the Centre says the project will miss its June deadline.
The 30-km road was designed to complete a vital ring road around Peshawar. However, since it began in 2010, the project has been plagued by slow funding and missed deadlines. Because of these constant delays, the total cost has exploded from an original Rs 3 billion to a staggering Rs 27 billion.
KP Finance Minister Muzzammil Aslam expressed deep frustration after meeting with federal officials. He noted that although the province secured bank guarantees to fund the final stretch, the federal government does not consider the bypass a “priority.” Federal officials now suggest the road might not be finished until next September, as they are focusing on 16 other projects instead.
The provincial government warned that the Centre is “dragging its feet” and treating the region unfairly. This tension comes at a difficult time, as KP is already struggling with reduced cash transfers from the federal government, which threatens local services and budget targets set by the IMF. For the people of Peshawar, the long-awaited bypass remains a symbol of broken promises and rising costs.
