ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Highway Authority (NHA) has awarded contracts worth over 282 billion rupees to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to upgrade a strategic highway vital for trade with western China and Afghanistan.
The project will dualise and rehabilitate key sections of the 790-km National Highway 25 (N-25), an artery connecting the southern port of Karachi with the Chaman border crossing. All sections are scheduled for completion within two years, according to official documents.
While not a direct part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the N-25 upgrade is considered essential for strengthening CPEC’s western route and facilitating future trans-Afghan trade.
The contracts, awarded on Oct. 9, cover several segments. These include the 278-km Karachi-Khuzdar section and the 187-km stretch between Kararo and Chaman.
Strategically, the N-25 connects Pakistan’s deep-sea ports with its northern land routes. The city of Khuzdar serves as a critical junction linking the N-25 with the M-8 motorway, which extends westward to Gwadar Port, the centerpiece of the multi-billion dollar CPEC initiative.
The upgrades are expected to create an integrated transport network across Balochistan province, linking both Karachi and Gwadar ports.
The northern Kuchlak-Chaman section is a primary trade gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia, a role expected to grow as Pakistan and China discuss extending CPEC into Afghanistan.
The project aligns with a new five-year “Action Plan” announced after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to Beijing. The plan calls for transforming Gwadar Port into a regional connectivity hub and leveraging it for trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia. –Agencies
