Hakla-DI Khan motorway to open for traffic ‘till Oct’

CPEC project facing constant delays due to funds issues

ISLAMABAD:

The Hakla-DI Khan Motorway – an important component of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s (CPEC) Western Route – would be open for traffic till the end of next month, after several deadlines issued by the government.

On Saturday, the National Highway Authority officials told the Express News that the Hakla-DI Khan Motorway would be opened for traffic till the end of October.

 According to sources, the project, which is worth over Rs122 billion, has been affected by multiple issues, including funds.

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Around 280 kilometres long the project was about to complete at the end of 2018, but it was delayed. On May 27, Communications Minister Murad Saeed told the Senate that the CPEC project would be completed by September this year.

“89 per cent of work on the project has been completed; only bridges are being constructed; it will soon be open for traffic,” he had said during the question hour session.

Elaborating on the details of the project, the NHA officials said the project is divided into five different packages. Package-1 of the project, having a total length of 55 kilometres, originates from Yarik near DI Khan and culminates at Rehmani Khel; Package-2 starts from Rehmanikhel and ends at Kot Belian I district Mianwali; Package-3 starts from Kot Belian and ends at Tarap, Package-4 starts from Tarap and ends at Pindi Gheb; and Package-5 starts at Pindi Gheb and ends at Hakla.

The motorway, they added would not only cut the travel distance between Islamabad and DI Khan but also link major highways at Dera Ismail Khan junction.

After completion of the project, vast expanses of North Punjab, South Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and North West Balochistan will be opened for all kinds of trade activities.

WITH INPUT FROM NEWS DESK