First motorway of Sindh to be inaugurated next month

Islamabad: Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9), the first ever motorway project in Sindh province, will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister in March after its successful completion, says a press release.

The project, built as per highest international standards, will be extremely helpful in regulating the traffic along the busiest section of the country. According to an estimate, more than 30,000 vehicles (mostly commercial) would daily travel between the two cities. This also includes the cargo traffic originating from Karachi Port and Port Qasim and heading southwards to different parts of the country.

The project was launched on Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) mode in 2015 and was awarded to FWO. Under the agreement, 136 km long 4-lane old Expressway has been converted into 6-lane motorway. Two lane service roads on either side of the motorway are also constructed to facilitate the people of the adjoining areas. In addition, 8 interchanges, 11 weigh stations and 2 service areas are also part of the project. The service areas will be equipped with all the essential facilities including tuck shops, mosque, workshop, gas station and public toilets.

The Motorway will not only reduce distance and travel time but also minimize the frequency of accidents along this very important section. It will contribute immensely to the economy of the country by accelerating commercial and trade activities.

Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway (M-6) is another important project in Sindh province which is expected to start very soon. 292 km long motorway is being built on Public Private Partnership mode at a cost of around Rs238 billion and is an important link of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.