ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: During past three years, work on 20 National Highway Authority (NHA) motorways and highways projects having 3,047 kilometres length started.
Talking to the state-run news agency in Islamabad, the NHA spokesman Kashif Zaman said that these projects would cost Rs 1,140.74 billion and on their completion would help improve regional connectivity.
He said project of recarpetting and renovations of Lahore-Islamabad Motorway launched in 2014 has already been completed. The length of the project was 357 km and it cost Rs 46 billion.
Among the under-construction projects, he said, include 59 Km Burhan-Havelian Motorway also known as Hazara Motorway which would be completed by end of 2017. Similarly work on 120 km Havelian-Thakot section of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is going on and it would cost Rs 136 billion, he added.
He said that work on Hakla-D.I Khan section of CPEC started last year and the 285 km project costing Rs 129 billion would be completed in 2018.
PC-I of 210 km D.I. Khan-Zhob section of N-50 has been prepared and its work is likely to start this year. The project cost is estimated to be Rs 81 billion, the NHA spokesman said.
About 89 kilometres Sialkot-Lahore motorway will cost Rs 44 billion and its work started last year.
He said that under construction 230 km Lahore-Multan Motorway will cost Rs 148 billion. Under-construction 62 km Gojra-Shorkot section of Faisalabad-Multan Motorway (M-4) would cost Rs 17.5 billion while its 64 km Shorkot-Khanewal section would cost 22 billion.
At procurement stage Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway project (M-6) will be 296 km long and it would cost Rs 163 billion.
Under construction 136 km Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway to be completed this year and would cost Rs 36 billion.Jaglot-Skardu Highway (S-1) is at procurement stage and its length is 164 km and cost Rs 32 billion. Balance work of 135 km Raikot-Thakot (N-35) is at planning stage and would cost Rs 8 billion.
The NHA spokesman said that procurement process of 16 km Lahore Eastern Bypass project has been completed. The project would cost 12.2 billion.
Zhob-Mughalkot (N-50) is 81 km long while its length is about 81 km.
He said that 128 km under-construction Qila Saifullah-Waigum Rud Motorway (N-70) would cost 7.52 km while 32 km Rakhi Gaaj-Bewata would cost 23.5 km. The 200 km Yakmach-Kharan highway is another important under construction road which would cost 13.76 billion.
Khuzdar-Basima Highway forming part of the CPEC would be 110 km long and cost Rs 19.76 billion, he added.
