The National Highway Authority (NHA) will soon start construction work on the Awaran-Nal section of the Ratodero-Gwadar Motorway (M- 8) and the Zhob-Qilla Saifullah section of the National Highway 50 (N-50). The projects are of utmost importance given the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative, said Shahid Ihsan Ullah, Member (West Zone), NHA, during a live session, according to a Gwadar Pro's report. Shahid said that NHA has paid mobilization advance to contractors of all three packages of the 168-kilometre Awaran-Nal section of M- 8.  They have started a land survey and will soon launch construction activities, he added. Awaran-Nal is the last missing link in the M-8 Motorway, which links the Peshawar-Karachi Motorway with Gwadar near Sukkur in Sindh province.  Work on the 146- kilometer Hoshab-Awaran section of the M-8 is already underway. The rest of the key artery is functional. In addition, NHA has awarded contracts for three sections of the N- 50 Highway between Zhob and Qilla Saifullah, and will soon mobilize contractors for physical works, Shahid said.  Construction work is already underway on two packages of the N-50 between Qilla Saifullah and Kuchlak, a town  near Quetta .

we are striving to open certain patches of the road for traffic in November as per instructions of caretaker prime Minister Anwar ul Haq kakar, Shahid said .N-50 ,when  linked with the Hakla-D.I.khan moterway (M-14) ,will provide another rout to connect Peshawar and Islamabad  with Gwadar, popularly known as the western Route. The NHA member said that work was underway on the Quetta-Khuzdar section of the Karachi –Quetta-Chaman Highway (N-25).PC-1s for the  Karachi-Khuzdar and the Quetta-Chaman section have also been approved and the projects will be executed after the availability  of funds he said .N25 connects Karachi with Afghanistan via the chaman border. It also interest the M-8 motorway at khuzdar ,thus linking Gwadar with Afghanistan as well.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China