ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Under construction Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway project would be completed by end of 2018, an official of the National Highway Authority (NHA) said on Tuesday.
Talking to the state-run news agency, the NHA offical said that Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway would reduce travel time and boost economic activities in less developed areas of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The official said that the four-lane North-South Motorway has the 285-kilometre-length and is being developed as part of the western alignment of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The NHA official said that starting from Hakla, Fateh Jang, the motorway extends in a southwestern direction passing the towns of Pindi Gheb, Tarap, and Mianwali.
The route transverses the Sindh Sagar Doab region, and cross the Indus River near Mianwali before entering into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The motorway continues on wards before terminating near the town of Yarrik, north of Dera Ismail Khan city.
For ensuring timely completion of the project, Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway has been divided in five phases including Yarik-Rehmani Khail section, Rehmani Khail-Kot Belian Section, Kot Belian-Tarap section, Tarap-Pindi Gheb section, and Pindi Gheb-Hakla Interchange section.
The motorway includes provision of 11 interchanges, 19 flyovers (6 lanes), 15 bridges (4 lane), 74 underpasses, 259 culverts, and three 6-lane major bridges on River Sawan, River Indus and River Koram.
