Governor to open Lahore-Abdul Hakeem Motorway tomorrow

MULTAN/TOBA TEK SINGH: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar and Federal Minister for Communication and Portal Services Murad Saeed will inaugurate the recently completed 230km Lahore-Abdul Hakeem Section of Peshawar-Lahore-Karachi Motorway at Jaranwala Interchange on Sunday (tomorrow).

Talking to reporters here on Friday, M-3 General Manager Muhammad Nadeem Arif informed that the inauguration ceremony would be held at 3pm. Meanwhile, former premier Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani had initiated the execution of 286km four-lane M-4 project in 2009 while ex-PM Mian Nawaz Sharif had executed 230km six-lane M-3 project in December 2015. He had executed two more motorways - M-1 which connects Peshawar-Islamabad and M-2 which connects Islamabad-Lahore in 1997.

The Multan-Rawalpindi travel would decrease to five hours and the Multan-Lahore to just three hours.

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had inaugurated two sections of M4 and M-3 in May 2018. The two sections were Gojra-Toba Tek Singh section of Faisalabad-Multan (M-4) and Sharaqpur-Rajana section of M-3 at Rajana village of Toba Tek Singh. Meanwhile, talking to The News, NHA Public Relations Director Sibtain Raza Lodhi said the inauguration of both the motorways had been finalised and all arrangements in this regard had been completed.

The completion of both motorways would reduce traffic burden on the highways and provide alternative travel opportunity to commuters on fast track motorways, he told. He said that fuel consumption of vehicles would be significantly reduced due to increased traffic capacity and easing of traffic pressure on other routes. While giving the route details, Sibtain Raza Lodhi said that the M-3 starts from M-2 in Lahore and it then goes southwest from Lahore and ends up at M-4 near Abdul Hakim.

He said that the M-3 was a six-lane motorway with three rest areas along the route near Nankana Sahib Interchange, Samundri Interchange and Darkhana Road near Abdul Hakim Interchange near Chak 17/GB Lake Shah. Nine exit junctions were provided on the M-3 route in the north and south bound routes.

The exit junctions included Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Jaranwala, Samundri, Rajana, PS Shorkot Cantt Road, Shorkot Cantt, Abdul Hakim and Pindi-Bhattian M-4 Motorway were north bound exits. Sibtain Raza Lodhi said that the M-4 had 21 exit junctions, which includes M-2 Islamabad-Lahore Motorway, Sangla Hill, Sahianwala, Deputywala, Kamalpur, Aminpur, Panisra, Gojra, Jhang Road, Warimwala, Shorkot, Abdul Hakim, Dinpur, Makhdoompur, Kabirwala, Khanewal, Multan, Multan and M-5 Multan-Sukhar Motorway. He said that the Sharaqpur-Rajana Section of Lahore–Abdul Hakeem Motorway would reduce the traffic burden drastically and it would provide relief on the GT Road. The M-3 and M-4 would connect major cities besides ensuring efficient and safe transportation of passengers and goods, he concluded.