PM Imran Khan inaugurates Azakhel dry port in Nowshera

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday inaugurated a newly-constructed dry port in Azakhel area of Nowshera.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, he thanked Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed for earmarking funds for construction of the dry port, which he said will not only boost trade but yield employment opportunities.

The prime minister said the project was envisaged in 2006 but could not be completed by previous governments.

He regretted no government spent funds on railways infrastructure over the seventy-year history of the country. He added the railway line decreased in length from the one inherited from British colonial rule.

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The main reason was corruption and nepotism rampant in previous governments, the prime minister said, adding a different set of rules existed in old Pakistan with respect to rich and poor classes.

PM Khan said rail is the medium of travel of common man in the whole world. Whereas in Pakistan the railways infrastructure is in dilapidated condition due to non-investment, he lamented.

Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and Governor Shah Farman were present at the ceremony.

According to official sources, the dry port that has been built at a cost of Rs510 million will boost trade and economic activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the entire region.