Motorways of Pakistan
Motorways of Pakistan | |
---|---|
System information | |
Length | 3,736 km (2,321 mi) |
Formed | 1997 |
Highway names | |
System links | |
Motorways of Pakistan (Urdu: پاکستان کے موٹروے) are a network of multiple-lane, high-speed, controlled-access highways in Pakistan, which are owned, maintained, and operated federally by Pakistan's National Highway Authority. As of 18 March 2020, 1973 km of motorways are operational, while an additional 1763 km are under construction or planned. Motorways are a part of Pakistan’s “National Trade Corridor Project” and “China-Pakistan Belt Road Initiative,” starting from Khunjerab Pass near Chinese Border to Gwadar in Balochistan. All motorways in Pakistan are pre-fixed with the letter 'M' (for "Motorway") followed by the unique numerical designation of the specific highway (with a hyphen in the middle), e.g. "M-1".[citation needed][1][2]
History
Pakistan's motorways are an important part of Pakistan's "National Trade Corridor Project",[3] which aims to link Pakistan's three Arabian Sea ports (Karachi Port, Port Bin Qasim and Gwadar Port) to the rest of the country through its national highways and motorways network and further north with Afghanistan, Central Asia and China. The project was planned in 1990. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor project aims to link Gwadar Port and Kashgar (China) using Pakistani motorways, national highways, and expressways.
List of motorways
Name | Route | Length (km) | Lanes | Completion Year | Status | Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M-1 motorway (Pakistan) | Peshawar–Islamabad | 155 | 6 | 2007 | Operational | Hazara Expressway interchange completed in 2018. | |
M-2 motorway (Pakistan) | Islamabad–Lahore | 334 | 6 | 1997 | Operational | Repaved in 2016 | |
M-3 motorway (Pakistan) | Lahore–Abdul Hakeem | 230 | 6 | 2019 |
Operational |
Construction began in December 2015. | |
M-4 motorway (Pakistan) | Pindi Bhattian–Multan | 309 | 4-6 | 2019 |
Operational |
Construction began in 2009. | |
M-5 motorway (Pakistan) | Multan–Sukkur | 392 | 6 | 2019 | Operational | Construction began in May 2016. | |
M-6 motorway (Pakistan) | Sukkur-Hyderabad | 296 | 6 | 2023 | Planned | M-6 Motorway pending from last 5 years to Due to NHA negligence.No ground work in progress. | |
M-7 motorway (Pakistan) | Dadu–Hub | ||||||
M-8 motorway (Pakistan) | Ratodero–Gwadar | 892 | 2 | 2022 | Partially Operational Under Construction |
Operational between Hoshab-Gwadar and Khuzdar-Ratodero. | |
M-9 motorway (Pakistan) | Hyderabad–Karachi | 136 | 6 | 2018 | Operational | Construction began in September 2015. | |
M-10 motorway (Pakistan) | Karachi Northern Bypass | 57 | 2 | 2007 | Operational | Proposed for expansion into 4 lane. | |
M-11 motorway (Pakistan) | Lahore–Sialkot | 103 | 4 | 2020 | Operational | Construction began in April 2017. Expanded to Rawalpindi via Kharian-Jhelum till 2021. | |
M-12 motorway (Pakistan) | Sialkot – Kharian
and |
Planned | |||||
M-13 motorway (Pakistan) | Swabi - Chakdara | Planned | |||||
M-14 motorway (Pakistan) | Hakla–D.I Khan | 285 | 4 | 2020 | Under Construction | Construction began in May 2016. | |
M-15 motorway (Pakistan) | Hasan Abdal–Thakot | 180 | 6-4-2 | 2020 | Operational | Construction began in 2016 | |
M-16 motorway (Pakistan) | Nowshera – Chakdara | 160 | 4 | 2021 | Partially Operational Under Construction |
Operational from Nowshera to Chakdara |
Other Proposed Motorways
Name | Route | Length (km) | Lanes | Completion Year | Status | Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peshawar-D.I. Khan motorway | Peshawar-D.I. Khan | ||||||
Peshawar-Kabul motorway | Peshawar –Kabul |
Map of Motorway Network
Patrolling and enforcement
Pakistan's Motorways are patrolled by Pakistan's National Highways & Motorway Police (NH&MP), which is responsible for enforcement of traffic and safety laws, security and recovery on the Pakistan Motorway network. The NH&MP use SUVs, cars and heavy motorbikes for patrolling purposes and uses speed cameras for enforcing speed limits.
Emergency runways
The M-1 motorway (Peshawar-Islamabad) and the M-2 motorway (Islamabad-Lahore) each include two emergency runway sections of 9,000 feet (2,700 m) length. The four emergency runway sections become operational by removing removable concrete medians using forklifts. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has used the M-2 motorway as a runway on two occasions: for the first time in 2000 when it landed an F-7P fighter, a Super Mushak trainer and a C-130 and, again, in 2010. On the last occasion, the PAF used a runway section on the M-2 motorway on 2 April 2010 to land, refuel and take-off two jet fighters, a [Mirage III] and an F-7P, during its Highmark 2010 exercise.[4]
See also
- National Highways of Pakistan
- Expressways of Pakistan
- Transport in Pakistan
- Speed limits in Pakistan
- Belt and Road Initiative
- National Highway Authority
References
- ^ "South Asia's Most Modern Interchange on Motorway-9 Open to Traffic". A blog about real estate, lifestyle and tourism in Pakistan | Zameen Blog. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
- ^ "National Highways Authority – Committed to Excellence". Retrieved 2020-10-24.
- ^ http://www.adb.org/Documents/Environment/PAK/40075/40075-PAK-SEIA.pdf[permanent dead link]
- ^ http://www.paf.gov.pk/press_release/uploaded/MOTORWAY-RELEASE02-04-10.pdf