ISLAMABAD: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Lt General (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa on Sunday said that work on the CPEC western route was in full swing.
He said that the Hakla-DI Khan motorway was near completion and would likely be opened for traffic in August/September this year.
“Hakla-DI Khan Motorway construction work is in full swing, current progress is 86 per cent. Will be commissioned by Aug/Sep,” he said in his tweet. The Chairman informed that with priority on the Western route now, two other segments (Zhob-Quetta, Hoshab-Awaran) had already been started. According to an official in CPEC Authority, some 1,100 kilometres of roads had been completed through the mega-project, while 850 kilometres were under construction.
On the western route, he said, the four-lane Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan motorway was in the final stages. Its total length was 285km, which had been divided into five packages. The first 55km package – which started from Yarik near D I Khan and ended at Rehmani Khel – would be completed on a priority basis, the official told media.
The National Logistics Company (NLC) has completed all infrastructure work of the motorway by keeping in view the international standards. The infrastructure work included construction of road, two interchanges at Abdul Khel and Yarik, six underpasses, four bridges, residential facilities and other development works. The motorway passes mostly through deserted areas where there is a dearth of green areas, so around 150,000 trees have been planted along the motorway. The motorway would not only provide a fast and comfortable travelling facility for the commuters, but it would also link national highways N-50 and N-55 with the motorway at DI Khan, he said. – Agencies
