PESHAWAR: The spons and tourism depanment on Monday approved Rs165 million for executing various projects aimed at honing sports talent among youth, promoting tourism and preserving archaeological and heritage sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The approval to this respect was given at a meeting of Depahmental Development Working Party (DDWP) held with secretary sports and tourism depanment Mohammad Tariq in the chair, according to a statement issued here.

The DDWP, under the annual development programme, finalised a number of projects for research in archaeology and heritage, construction of new playgrounds at tehsil level, spons talent hunt programme and promotion and preservation of Kalash culture in the scenic Kalash Valley of Chitral district.

The meeting decided that spons talent hunt programme would be launched in 12 games to provide the youth with an opportunity to hone their skill and excel in their respective fields.

It was decided that new playgrounds would be constructed at tehsil level and old ones would be reconstructed and renovated in various regions of the province.

Besides, several projects were also approved for preservation of archaeological sites, research for identification of sites, excavation and their promotion through publicity to highlight their importance to the tourists, students and researchers.

The meeting also approved construction of a playground at Government Degree College, Matta, and a picnic spot in Malam Jabba tehsil of Swat.