PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has said work has been launched to design a survey for the construction of 589 kilometer roads in 17 districts of the province.

He was presiding over a meeting of the provincial government team and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) mission at his office, said an official handout.

Minister for Communication and Works Akbar Ayub, Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary Muhammad Israr, C&W, secretaries Planning and Development, JICA Team Member Naila Almas, Amir Bukhari and other relevant officials attended the meeting.

The participants were briefed about the rural road improvement and rehabilitation plan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A pre-feasibility report for the rehabilitation, reconstruction and road improvement was presented along with the implementation strategy and the timeline.

The meeting discussed the resources for rehabilitation of the bridges. The JICA would work out a mechanism to finalize an agreement to start practical work on these projects in September. Roads and bridges have already been identified.

The chief minister assured all-out support for early work on projects in road communication, agriculture sector development and overall rehabilitation. He added that Swat had been hit by terrorism and, therefore, the government would facilitate the early rehabilitation of infrastructure like other areas of the province.

The road communication network would be expanded through collaboration between the C&W Department and the JICA.

This would include 53 km roads and five bridges in Swat as a part of the rehabilitation plan. The government would also plan an agriculture research station in Mingora in collaboration with JICA, he added.

Mahmood Khan said that tourism would be the focus area to be developed as an industry in the province.

The chief minister wished JICA to work on the capacity building of farmers for the agriculture productivity in the province.

He wished the JICA to form a consortium for investment in Chashma Right Bank lift Irrigation Scheme which he termed the key to the agriculture development and Food autarky in the whole of the province.

Ban on recruitment in health sector lifted partially: Following the directives of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department lifted the ban on all kinds of appointments in the health sector of merged districts and Medical Teaching Institutes.

“However, the ban still remains imposed at the district level in the province,” said an official communiqué, adding, the department lifted the ban on all kinds of appointments/recruitments in the health sector to the extent of merged districts/areas/MTIs in the public interest with immediate effect.

The recruitment of doctors and other health professionals would help resolve the issue of lack of medical staff in both tribal districts and MTIs, it said, adding, “However, the ban will remain on recruitment at health secretariat, DG health and district level of the health sector in the province.”