Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan said the proposed Lahore-Rawalpindi motorway will reduce the travel distance between the two cities from 380 kilometres to 280 kilometres, with the project targeted for completion by the end of 2027. He expressed this while addressing the business community in Lahore on Saturday.
He said the new motorway would cut travel time between Lahore and Islamabad from three and a half hours to two and a half hours. Abdul Aleem Khan said the motorway would connect several major cities in Punjab, including Gujranwala, Gujrat, Lalamusa, Kharian and Jhelum, improving regional connectivity and facilitating commuters and transporters.
He also announced that the Sialkot Motorway would be expanded from four lanes to six lanes, with an additional Rs10 billion allocated for the project. According to the minister, the new motorway projects would save travel time and fuel while improving transportation links between some of Punjab’s busiest cities. The minister further said that the government was working to lay the foundation stone for the Sukkur Motorway next month. He added that the government had already approved three sections of the project and that the planned motorway would extend from Sukkur to Hyderabad.
Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan has highlighted several ongoing and planned road infrastructure projects, including motorway expansions, expressways and new routes aimed at improving connectivity, reducing travel time and promoting trade and tourism. He said work on the expansion of the Faisalabad Motorway was progressing rapidly without relying on government budget funds. The minister also announced plans to visit the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce after the project’s completion.
Highlighting the Sambrial-Kharian Motorway project, Abdul Aleem Khan said it would reduce the travel distance between Lahore and Rawalpindi by 100 kilometres and save more than an hour of travel time for commuters and transport operators. He added that construction of the Lodhran Expressway would be completed soon using internal resources, while work on the Sukkur-Karachi Motorway was scheduled to begin next month.
He said three sections of the motorway had been approved, with the project aimed at improving high-speed road connectivity to Karachi Port. The minister also said that following the recent beautification of the Murree Expressway, plans were being considered to extend the route into Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
He further outlined plans for future motorway extensions beyond Kaghan and Naran to promote tourism, strengthen regional connectivity and facilitate direct trade routes towards the Chinese border and neighbouring regions.
