NHA to complete 10 mega projects this year

Islamabad: National Highway Authority (NHA) is all set to complete at least 10 highway and motorway projects during 2018, says a press release.

These projects were initiated during 2015-16 and are progressing as per their target schedule. Being part of government’s vision to expand and improve road network stretching right from Khunjrab border and up to the Gwadar Port, these projects will surely change the entire national landscape to the advantage of country’s 200 million inhabitants in the shape of unprecedented growth in economic and trade activities through improved connectivity.

Lahore-Abdul hakim Motorway (230 km) is expected to complete by May. Built at a cost of Rs 148 billion, the six-lane motorway will provide a swift and easy route between Lahore and Multan. The project is funded by the government through PSDP.

Hakla-DI Khan having the length 285km with a cost of Rs122 billion and 81km Zhob-Mughalkot costing Rs8.8billion funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will be completed by December 2018. The completion of these two projects will effectively complete the Western route of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). With the completion of Hakla to Dera Ismail Khan motorway, the travel time between Islamabad and D I Khan will get reduced from five hours to just two-and-a-half hours besides facilitating movement to the country’s southern cities such as Quetta and Gwadar.

Meanwhile, another important project - Khuzdar- Ratodero (151 km) that has been completed at a cost of Rs8.8 billion is all set to be inaugurated this year in April. This project though not part of CPEC, is quite significant in terms of providing the much-needed connectivity between Balochistan and Sindh and facilitating CPEC traffic originating from the Gwadar Port,” said the NHA official.

Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9) where 95% work has already been completed will see the finish line in March. The 136km, the six-lane motorway with the two-lane service road on either side, is being built on the BoT basis at a cost of Rs44 billion. Being the country’s busiest section with over 30,000 daily traffic count, this motorway will be immensely helpful in catering to the commercial traffic originating from the Karachi Port and the Port Qasim.

Following the recent inauguration of the Lyari Expressway, M-9 will offer an added benefit to commuters to reach their destinations without facing the city congestions.

Gojra-Shorkot (62km) and Shorkot-Khanewal (65km) sections of M-4 are scheduled to complete by August with a cost of Rs17 billion and Rs22 billion, respectively. Financed jointly by the Asian Development Bank and Government of Pakistan, their completion will reduce travel time from the federal capital to Multan to just 5 hours.

One of the important links of CPEC and the country’s longest planned motorway, Multan-Sukkur (M-5) is though scheduled to complete in 2019, its two sections - Multan to Shujaabad and Pano Aqil to Ghotki - will be completed this year. The 392km-long motorway is being financed by China at a cost of Rs294 billion.

Lahore-Sialkot Motorway (89 km) will be completed on the BOT mode by December at a cost of Rs44 billion. It will link the industrial city of Sialkot with the rest of the country, leading to swift movement of industrial products.