The federal government has officially greenlit a game-changing infrastructure project: a modern, four-lane motorway stretching from Mansehra to Chilas, passing right through the scenic tourist hubs of Kaghan and Naran.
While early project graphics and circulating social media posts initially pitched this as a 235-kilometer route, according to Dawn, the National Highway Authority (NHA) has optimized the alignment into a sleek, high-speed 172-kilometer motorway.
This design is a massive win, effectively cutting down travel times from a grueling seven hours to just around two hours.
What This Means for Local Motorists
Currently, the journey from Mansehra to Chilas via the Naran-Kaghan highway (N-15) is incredibly beautiful but equally punishing for standard family cars. Drivers have to negotiate a narrow, undivided two-lane road, navigate steep, hair-raising climbs up to the Babusar Pass (sitting at over 13,700 feet), and face complete route closures for nearly six months of the year due to heavy snow.
This newly approved motorway is designed to eliminate these pain points:
No More Ground Clearance Issues: Say goodbye to scraping your Civic or Corolla’s underbelly on broken tarmac. The international-standard dual-carriageway design ensures smooth gradients and zero rough terrain.
Safer Overtaking: Mountain driving is notoriously dangerous due to head-on collisions on blind, undivided curves. A physical barrier separating opposing lanes means you can cruise without the anxiety of a truck appearing out of nowhere in your lane.
660cc Friendly climbs: Smaller hatchbacks (like the Suzuki Alto) that typically struggle, stall, or overheat on the thin-air, high-altitude climbs of Babusar Pass will now be able to glide through comfortably.
13.5km Babusar Tunnel: Pakistan’s Longest Tunnel
The absolute highlight of this mega-project is the construction of a 13.5-kilometer-long Babusar Tunnel, which will officially become the longest tunnel in Pakistan.
Rather than forcing standard passenger vehicles to climb the hazardous, snow-capped peak of Babusar Top, this massive engineering marvel will bypass the pass entirely. Crucially, this opens up the real possibility of year-round, all-weather connectivity to Gilgit-Baltistan, bypassing the longer, more hazardous route via Kohistan and offering a reliable alternative to the Karakoram Highway (KKH).
Key Takeaways: Project Timeline and Phased Launch
Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan has directed the NHA to initiate work on an emergency basis. The project will be executed in two distinct phases:
- Phase 1: Mansehra to Kaghan, Naran, and Babusar Top.
- Phase 2: Babusar Top to Chilas (linking up with the KKH).
The Tech Specs at a Glance:
- Width: Four lanes initially, with built-in design capacity to easily expand to six lanes in the future.
- Convenience: Modern rest areas will be built every 25 to 30 kilometers.
- Logistics: Specialized trucking and freight terminals will be established at both ends of the motorway to streamline commercial cargo moving to and from western China.
A four-lane motorway slicing through the pristine valleys of Kaghan and Naran is bound to make traveling incredibly easy, but the impact on the local environment and the rustic charm of these mountain towns remains to be seen.
Comments are closed.