ISLAMABAD: The Lahore-Abdul Hakeem (Khanewal) section of M-3 is scheduled to be opened to traffic by Feb 15, a senior official of the National Highway Authority said.

Talking to APP, the official said all physical work on this section had already been completed but due to some technical issues the section could not be opened.

He said the Gojra-Shorkot section of the Faisalabad-Multan motorway was also near completion and it would also be opened next month.

He said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) funded Multan-Sukkur motorway was likely to be opened to traffic by August this year as work on the project was in progress according to the given schedule and there was no delay.

At present, 83 percent of total work had been completed, out of which 392 kilometer roadbed and culvert passage, and other structures had already been completed,” the official added.

He said up to now, all the bridges had been completed, and asphalt pavement works were advancing at full speed, and the building construction and ancillary works also being implemented actively.

The Multan-Sukkur motorway was part of the Peshawar-Karachi Motorway which was also known as the eastern rout of CPEC. This rout starts from Karachi via Hyderabad, Sukkur, Multan, Islamabad, Lahore and other cities, and ends in Peshawar with a total length of 1,152 kilometers.

The Sukkur-Multan has a design speed of 120 km per hour, and it is a two-way six-lane road with a contractual value of USD 2.889 billion (excluding $180 million tax exemption).

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2019