CPEC Western Route Projects in Developmental Phases
by Fatima Javed
ISLAMABAD, Dec. 26 (Gwadar Pro) – China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) western route projects which involve motorways and highways are in the developmental phases. The government made various announcements on the progress of these motorways recently.
The western route is the shortest route from China to Gwadar which passes through the least developed areas of Baluchistan and Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa province (KPK).
CPEC western route will help usher in an era of economic prosperity in some of the country’s most underdeveloped regions. The completion of CPEC western route will accelerate the socio-economic development of regions along the corridor.
Work on three important motorways of western route projects is under progress.
The First motorway is Dera Ismail Khan-Peshawar motorway project which has been approved by the government. It will be the 3rd biggest motorway after Lahore – Islamabad and Multan-Sukkar motorway.
Negotiations will start with China and after approval construction will kick off next year and is expected to finish by 2025. It has a length of 360 kilometers and comprises six lanes and 19 interchanges at various points.
The motorway project also has two tunnels of seven kilometers length each.
According to officials, the project has an estimated cost of Rs276 billion. The mega project not only promises better connectivity of the region with the rest of the province but also will integrate the merged districts with the main centers of the province.
The second motorway is Islamabad – DI khan motorway, which is almost complete. 80 percent work has been finished and within next 6 months it will be open to traffic. This motorway is 285 km long.
The motorway includes provision of 11 interchanges, 19 flyovers (6 lanes), 15 bridges (4 lane), 74 underpasses, 259 culverts, and three major bridges (6 lane) - the first at River Sawan, second at River Indus and third at River Koram.
This motorway has a 100-meter-wide right of way in order to widen the four-lane road to six lanes in future as traffic volume increases.
The third motorway is Khuzdar-Bisma project, which is also a part of western route. It is a 110 km long highway from Khuzdar to Bisma and 40% of its work is completed. The project is expected to complete by next December.
These motorways will connect provinces to Gwadar through highways ultimately making this western route the shortest one from China to Gwadar as compared with the eastern route which passes through Sindh province.
The western routes will connect Gwadar to KPK province and Afghanistan, from where trade will also be possible through Central Asia and Russia.
