70% of UAE funded Pakistani bridge complete
$10.5m project was funded by the Sheikh Khalifa Foundation as part of Pakistani development projects
The UAE is funding a number of development projects in Pakistan in the aftermath of the floods.
The UAE Project to Assist Pakistan has announced that more than 70% of reconstruction works on the Sheikh Zayed Bridge across the Swat River in Pakistan has been completed, it was announced on Sunday.
The project, which cost $10.5m, was executed according to the instructions of the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It was funded by the Sheikh Khalifa Foundation as part of a package of development projects that the PAP is implementing in Pakistan.
Abdullah Khalifa Al Ghafli, PAP director, said that the vital project was the largest in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. When completed it will link 15 towns and 45 villages on both banks of the river, he said.
Nearly 4,000 vehicles can pass through the bridge on a daily basis. It is 448m long and 10.7m wide. It will also have a passage for pedestrians.
The bridge collapsed during the massive floods that hit Pakistan in 2010. Thousands of villagers living along the banks of the river were left isolated, and their movement hampered.
