Lowari Tunnel


Lowari Tunnel is an vehicular tunnel under the Lowari Pass of the Hindu Kush mountains, between Dir and Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. 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.

History

Originally conceived as a railway tunnel, construction began in September 1975 and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. However, less than a year later work stopped in 1976 due to non allocation of funds. Construction resumed again in September 2005 and was initially expected to be completed by 2009 and to convert it into a vehicle road tunnel.

Benefit

The tunnel essentially allows traffic on the N45 National Highway to bypass the Lowari Pass and was intended to reduce the 14 hour drive between Chitral 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 have to travel into Afghanistan and then back into Pakistan to access the rest of the country. The tunnel is facilitating economic development in the Chitral district, as of late 2018.