LAHORE, Jan 30: The Punjab government on Wednesday accorded Rs4 billion Lahore-Faisalabad Expressway contract to the Frontier Works Organization (FWO).

A letter of intent was issued by the provincial secretary, Communication and Works, to Lt-Gen Muhammad Zubair, FWO Director-General, here on Wednesday.

The FWO will construct 120-kilometre-long four-lane expressway in a period of three years on the built-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. It has also been given 25 years of concessional period for the recovery of construction cost by levying toll tax on the road.

“The expressway is badly needed given the condition of existing road and volume of traffic between both cities,” says an official of the C&W department.

“Apart from hundreds of thousands people commuting between the two cities, growing industry along the route has necessitated an expressway.

The new road will not only facilitate further investment along the route but also save millions of rupees in wear and tear of vehicles and people’s time,” he said.