The Motorways of Pakistan

Source :    Date : 01-Mar-2017

The Motorways of Pakistan are a network of multiple-lane, high-speed, limited-access or controlled-access highways in Pakistan, which are owned, maintained and operated federally by Pakistan's National Highway Authority.

The total length of Pakistan's motorways is 929 km as of June 1, 2016. Around 2000 km of motorways are currently under construction at different part of country. Most of these motorway projects will be completed in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

 

Pakistan's motorways are part of Pakistan's "National Trade Corridor Project", which aims to link Pakistan's three Arabian Sea ports (Karachi Port, Port Bin Qasim and Gwadar Port) to the rest of the country through its national highways and motorways network and further north with Afghanistan, Central Asia and China.It was planned in 1990.

China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project link Gwadar Port (Pakistan) and Kashgar (China) by Motorways Expressways. National Highways and Rail Network which was signed in 2013.

 

Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway (M-1)- Pakistan's third motorway, the 155 km 6-lane M-1, linking Peshawar with the federal capital, Islamabad, has been operational since 30 October 2007.

Lahore-Islamabad Motorway (M-2)- Pakistan's first motorway, the 367 km 6-lane M-2, connecting the cities of Islamabad and Lahore, was constructed by the South Korean company Daewoo and was inaugurated in November 1997. It was also the first motorway to be built in South Asia.

 

Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad Motorway (M-3)- The M3 is a motorway that links the city of Faisalabad with the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway (M-2). The M3 will eventually become an important link connecting southern Pakistan with the north. It is only 53 km long making it the shortest motorway of Pakistan. It has 2 junctions in between.

 

Faisalabad-Multan Motorway (M-4)- Construction of Pakistan's fourth motorway, the 233 km 4-lane M-4, began on 19 August 2009. Faisalabad-Gojra section completed and in March 2015 opened for traffic, Other M-4 Section Khanewal-Multan also completed and opened for traffic in November 2015. It is the part of KLM. it will link Multan with the M-3 Motorway at Faisalabad. It is connected with 6 major cities of Pakistan (Gojra, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Shorkot, Khanewal & Multan). Faisalabad-Multan Motorway (M-4) begins at the termination of the M-3 at the Sargodha Road Interchange on the northern outskirts of Faisalabad. It will continue on a southwest course connecting the cities of Faisalabad, Jhang, Gojra, Toba Tek Singh, Shorkot, Khanewal and Multan. Once at Khanewal, it will merge onto the N5 temporarily until the M5 is complete. The M-4 will have four sections: (i) Faisalabad-Gojra (58 km), (ii) Gojra-Shorkot (62 km), (iii) Shorkot-Din Pur-Khanewal (64 km) and (iv) Khanewal-Multan (45 km), whereas two large bridges will be constructed on the River Ravi and Sadhnai Canal.

 

Sukkur-Multan Motorway (M-5)- The M-5 is a planned 1,160 km long, 6-lane motorway that will link Lahore with Karachi. This is also known for Karachi-Multan-Lahore Motorway,Short as KLM Project. Groundbreaking ceremony of 392-kilometre six-lane Sukkur-Multan Motorway(M-5) by Prime minister Nawaz shareif at 6 May 2016 at Sukkur It is part of Peshawar-Karachi motorway. It is a part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). 392 kilometre section of the motorway will cost Rs 294 billion and will be completed in three years. 90% of the project's cost is to be financed by concessionary loans from China,The six-lane motorway will pass through Multan-Jalalpur Peerwala Ahmed Pur East, Ubaro and Pano Aqil and will terminate at Sukkur. The section will have 11 interchanges and ten rest-areas. A total of around 54 bridges are to be constructed in the project with one major bridge on River Sutlej.

 

Dadu-Hub Motorway (M-7)- The M-7 is a planned 270 km long, 4-lane motorway that will link Dadu with Hub.

 

Ratodero-Gawader Motorway (M-8)- The 892 km 4-lane M-8 is under-construction in Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Initially, it will have 2 lanes with a further 2 lanes planned. The 4 lane motorway will be upgradable to 6 lanes. Once completed it will directly link the port city of Gwadar with the rest of Pakistan's motorway network at Ratodero where it will link up with the M-6 Dera Ghazi Khan-Ratodero Motorway. It is longest motorway in Pakistan. Ratodero (Larakana) Link with Khuzdar and Gwadar Port. This route is partially constructed. 193 Km long stretch between Gwadar and Hoshab was inaugurated by PM Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief Raheel Sharif on Feb 3, 2016. It was completed in Dec 2016. It links Indus Highway (N-55) with Khuzdar , Awaran, Hoshab , Turbat and Gwadar Port. It will be important route in China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In future it will be Linked by Sukkur-Multan Motorway (M-5).

 

Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9)- The current 4-lane Hyderabad-Karachi "Super Highway" is in the process of being upgraded into a 6-lane access-controlled motorway, designated the "M-9". The M-9 Motorway will have 8 interchanges, 2 service areas at the midway points and 16 toll plazas on entry and exit points. M-9 Motorway construction is underway since from March 8, 2015 and it will be complete in next 2.5 Years.

 

Karachi Northern Bypass (M-10)- The M10 is a motorway located in Sindh province, Pakistan, however it is mostly referred to as the Karachi Northern Bypass. It is 57 km long and consists of 4 lanes (2 lanes operational). The M10 begins north of Karachi at the end of Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road, near the junction of the M9 to which it is connected through a Trumpet interchange. It then continues north for a few kilometers before turning west, where it forms an interchange with the N25. After this interchange it eventually turns south back towards Karachi and merges onto the KPT Flyover at Karachi Port.

 

Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway- The Hakla-D I khan Motorway is a 280 kilometer long 4 lane controlled access motorway being constructed as part of the Western Alignment of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It will commence at the Hakla Rest area near Tarnol interchange on the M-1 at Hasan Abdal, and traverse the Sindh Sagar Doab before crossing the Indus River near Mianwali. From there, the motorway will continue into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and terminate at the town of Yarik Indus Highway (N-55), near Dera Ismail Khan. The alignment started from Yarak at Indus highway to Rahman khaili, Isakhail, Mianwali, Skanderabad, Daud Khail, Kala Bagh, Tarap, Pindigap and Ternol Interchange (M-1). The earth breaking ceremony was held by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Yarak (Indus Highway N-55) dated 17 May 2016. It was completed in two years. The estimated cost will be Rs 129.782 Billion. There will be 5 packages for construction Package-I (000-050 km): N-55 (DI Khan (Yarik) – Wanda Mir Alam) (50 km) Package-II (050-100 km): Wanda Mir Alam – Beruli (50 km) Package-III (100-155 km): Beruli – Tarap (55 km) Package-IV (155-212 km): Tarap – Pindi Gheb (62 km) Package-V (212-280 km): Pindi Gheb - Hakla (63 km)