ISLAMABAD: The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) funded Multan-Sukkurmotorway is likely to be opened for traffic by August this year as work onthe project is in progress according to the set schedule and there is nodelay in the project, a senior official of National Highway Authority said.
“At present 83 percent of total work has been completed, out of which 392kilometer roadbed and culvert passage, and other structures have alreadybeen completed,” the official told APP here on Thursday.
He said up to now, all the bridges are completed, and asphalt pavementworks are advancing at full speed, and the building construction andancillary works also being implemented actively.
The Multan-Sukkur motorway is part of Peshawar-Karachi Motorway which isalso known as the Eastern Rout of CPEC. This rout starts from Karachi viaHyderabad, Sukkur, Multan, Islamabad, Lahore and other cities, and ends inPeshawar with a total length of 1,152 kilometers.
Sukkur-Multan has a design speed of 120 km per hour, and it is a two-waysix-lane road with a contractual value of USD 2.889 billion (excluding $180million tax exemption).
The Export-Import Bank of China provides loan support and China StateConstruction Company Limited (CSCEC) is responsible for construction onEngineering Procurement Construction (EPC) basis.
With a contract period of 36 months (including design period of fourmonths), the project officially started on August 5, 2016.
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Meanwhile Lahore-Abdul Hakeem section of M-3 would be opened for traffic byFebruary 15. the official said that all physical work of this section hadalready been completed but due to some technical issues such as delay inapproval for deployment of motorway police on this section, the motorwaycould not yet been opened.
Similarly, the official informed that the Gojra-Shorkot section ofFaisalabad-Multan motorway had also be nearly completed and it would beopened for traffic by next month.
Project Director of Shorkot-Dinpur section of M-4, Zafar Hayat told APPthat work on the 34 kilometer section was also completed and it would alsobe opened for traffic by next month.
He said this section is being built at a cost of Rs 11,220 million and theproject is funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB).
He said work on the 31 kilometer Dinpur-Khanewal section is also progressin full pace and would be completed soon.
