NHA to build new motorways, expressways

[Salman]

ISLAMABAD - The National Highway Authority (NHA) was committed to provide international standard road links to all parts of the country and for achievement of this target it was planning to build several new motorways and expressways.
At present work on Faisalabad-Khanewal Motorway (M-4) and Khanewal-Multan section (M-4 Extension) is going on. Presently Faisalabad-Gojra section of M-4 was under construction, said an official of NHA.
He said that the new sections of M-4 upto Khanewal will be taken soon after the completion of land acquisition process. Replying to a question, he said that work on M-8 section of Gawadar-Turbat-Hoshab remained pending due the security situation. However, efforts are being made to revise the project.
Meanwhile, work on 60 km Shahdadkot-Khuzdar section was progressing well and over 80 per cent work is completed.
To a question about the planned alignments of future motorways and expressways projects, he said that work on 165 km Multan-Rajanpur section(M-5) would commence next year and would likely to complete in 2017.
He said work on 264 km Rajanpur-Ratodero motorway (M-6A) was being planned to start next year and its completion was envisaged by 2017 while 150 km Ratodero-Dadu Motorway (M-6B) would also be completed in the same timeframe.
About 350 km Dadu-Dureji-Hub- Dureji-Liyari Link (M-7), he said that the project was likely to commence next year and will be completed in 2017. Similarly 136 kilometre long Karachi-Hyderabad (M-9) would also be completed during four year time commencing next year.
About upcoming expressway projects, he said that Peshawar-Torkham Expressway (E-1) was envisaged to be implemented during 2018-23.
About 87-km Wazirabad-Kot Sarwar Expressway (Es being planned to be completed during 2014-16. He said that 103 Khanewal-Lodhran (Bahawalpur) Expressway(E-5A) would be built from 2014-16.
To a question about 109 km Burhan-Manshera Expressway(35), he said the project will be implemented between 2014-2016.