Largest infrastructure project of CPEC completed ahead of schedule

The Multan to Sukkhur section of the Peshawar-Karachi Motorway (PKM) Project in Pakistan obtained a Substantive Completion Certificate (SCC) issued by the owner, National Highways Authority of Pakistan on July 23, 13 days ahead of the contract completion period.

This marked the smooth implementation of the largest transportation infrastructure project of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which has laid a solid foundation for the project to be put into operation.

Since construction started on Aug 5, 2016, thousands of POWERCHINA employees have demonstrated high efficiency in working on the project, despite challenges such as the project's remote location, lack of resources, high temperature, and a severe security situation.

They completed 25.38 million square meters of earthwork filling, 2.43 million sq m of basement filling, 690,000 sq m of asphalt concrete paving, 26 bridges, 177 passages, 320 culverts, five interchanges, two service areas, two rest areas, and 10 toll stations.

With a construction period of 36 months, the project is designed to have six lanes in two directions. It has a total length of 392 kilometers, a design speed of 120 km per hour, and a road width of 31.5 meters.

As the largest transportation infrastructure project in the CPEC, the smooth opening of the motorway will open up the north-south traffic artery of the center of Pakistan, improve local traffic conditions, as well as create a good traffic environment for social and economic development along the project.

It will also provide more opportunities for sustainable development between China and Pakistan under the Belt and Road Initiative.