–Govt was reluctant to give previous government credit by arranging mega event, Ministry of Communication source claims
ISLAMABAD: Although the Ministry of Communications, National Highway Authority (NHA) and people were expecting the opening of Multan-Sukkur Motorway, the longest motorway in Pakistan, this month, but the opening has reportedly been delayed for another three to four months as China wants more time for transfer of machinery and a grand inaugural ceremony.
According to reliable sources, during a recent meeting at Ministry of Planning and Development and Reforms, Chinese representatives have opposed the opening of 392 km long Multan-Sukkur Motorway (M-5) saying that it needed more time to transfer/remove machinery and other equipment from the project. The officials of the Ministry of Communication had insisted on a soft opening of the mega project as there was demand from the public to open the new route for traffic.
“Apart from some necessary arrangements, the Chinese side wants a grand opening of the project, which is the biggest transport infrastructure built under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). However, the government, is apparently little interested in arranging a grand inaugural ceremony of the project, which actually was launched by the previous government,” said a reliable source at the planning ministry.
“The ministry of communication wanted a soft opening of the project for light traffic this month as work on the M-5 was completed. Through the soft opening the ministry and NHA wanted to allow only private vehicles,” said the sources adding that under the soft opening heavy traffic was not to be allowed until the motorway was formally inaugurated.
“It seems the government did not want to give credit to previous government for the longest motorway by arranging a mega event of an opening,” said another source at the ministry.
However, after opposition from the Chinese side, the government has now delayed the opening of the project for another three to four months whereas Minister of Planning and Development Khusro Bakhtiyar, during a talk show, has also confirmed that the opening will be held after a few months.
It may be mentioned here that with the completion of work on the project, various people wishing to travel between Sukkur and Multan were approaching NHA and communication ministry for permission. “Influential people have even been successful in getting one-time permission to travel on the new route,” sources claimed.
The Ministry of Communications and NHA had even announced the soft opening of the motorway this month as work on M-5 was completed. Consisting of 6-lane Multan-Sukkur Motorway is an integral link of CPEC that will reduce travel time between the two cities to a considerable extent.
M-5 will not only accelerate industrial growth but the agricultural sector will also be benefitted at large. The M-5 will pave the way for socio-economic uplift in Punjab and Sindh.
As per a report, the work on the six-lane highway started in September 2016 and it was scheduled to be ready by September 2019. The work on the project continued for nearly three years and produced 29,000 jobs for the locals. The project was completed two weeks before the scheduled time.
The project is a part of the country’s Peshawar-Karachi Motorway and was designed for speeds of up to 120 km. The total cost of the mega project was around $2.89 billion.
The motorway starts from Multan and passes through Jalalpur, Peerwala, Ahmed Pur East, Rahimyar Khan, Sadiqabad, Ubaro, Pano Aqil to end at Sukkur.
The project will help play a dual role by boosting industrial growth as well as helping strengthen the agricultural sector. It will help provide greater access to inner Sindh and Southern Punjab and helping them connect to the major road networks, helping pave the way for socio-economic uplift in these areas.