Lahore-Sialkot motorway our project, says Pervaiz Elahi

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) senior central leader Ch Pervaiz Elahi has said the project for the construction of six-lane Lahore-Sialkot motorway was planned by his government in 2006 and it would have been completed in 2010 at Rs 23 billion, but the PML-N added eight years and additional Rs 20.85 billion just for political rivalry.

Talking to the media in Gujrat, Ch Pervaiz Elahi said: “The rulers first stop projects of our tenure and then after making some changes here and there re-start these at much higher cost only to put up plaques of their names. Work on construction of Lahore-Sialkot project started in 2007 after formal inauguration, this motorway was to start from Sambrial on Sialkot-Wazirabad Road and go straight to Lahore and it would have been connected with Gujrat through construction of bridge on river Chenab near Shehbazpur, the project included establishment of three industrial zones with cooperation of China. Setting up of two international technical universities with the help of Sweden and Austria, but due to stopping of our project on the excuse of unavailability of funds both these universities went to India whereas 60 thousandpeople were denied opportunity of new employment, National Highway Authority (NHA) had named it as M-2 whereas it was also called the Industrial Highway besides Lahore-Sialkot Motorway, the project also included construction of 8 flyovers, 40 bridges and 70 underpasses and this would have included Sheikhupura, Daska, Narowal, Pasrur, Zafarwal, Chowinda and Wazirabad also directly in the national motorway grid besides Sialkot and Gujrat, seven interchanges were to be made on it, completion of this motorway would have reduced travelling distance between Sialkot and Lahore only to 45 minutes but owing to their enmity towards Gujrat the present rulers denied this facility to people of Sialkot, Sheikhupura, Narowal and Gujranwala districts for seven years and also caused big loss to provincial and national economy besides the area.”

During talk with the media, Ch Pervaiz Elahi showed clippings of newspapers of April 2007 in which Sialkot-Lahore Motorway inauguration news were also published.