PM okays upgradation of Karachi-Quetta-Chaman road

Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved in principle to upgrade Karachi-Quetta-Chaman road to expressway, Special Assistant to PM on Information and Broadcasting Lt-Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa said on Wednesday.

Asim Bajwa, who is also Chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority, said in a tweet that the 790 kilometres long road passes through the most neglected areas where accidents ratio is the highest due to its poor condition.

He said that the National Highway Authority (NHA) had also posted an advertisement for hiring consultant for feasibility study.

The expressway would be built on Build Operate Transfer (BOT) basis under the Public Private Partnership modality.

In July, the Balochistan government had also approved construction of Quetta to Karachi and Chaman highways.

“The provincial government with cooperation of the federal government is working to provide modern transport facilities to people across the province,” Home Minister Zia Langove said.

In the same month, the CPEC Authority chairman Bajwa had said that the construction work on Mansehra-Thakot motorway has been completed, "The motorway would be open for traffic soon."

Mansehra-Thahkot is part of the Hazara motorway that is a 180-kilometre controlled-access motorway linking the Burhan Interchange near Hasan Abdal with Haripur, Havelian, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Shinkiari, Battagram, and Thakot in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.