KARACHI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in Karachi on Tuesday to inaugurate the Karachi-Hyderabad (M-9) motorway on Super Highway.
According to the premier’s spokesperson, Nawaz will return to Islamabad after the inauguration. He is also expected to review the law and order situation in Karachi.
After arriving in Karachi, the premier departed for Nooriabad via helicopter. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and chief minister of Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah were present at the inauguration along with National Highway Authority (NHA) Chairman Shahid Ashraf Tarar and Major Gen Muhammad Afzal.
The M-9 motorway’s first phase will include conversion of the Karachi–Hyderabad Superhighway to a six-lane Motorway. The second phase of the project will be the Karachi-Lahore Motorway which is scheduled to be developed from Hyderabad to Sukkur, Sukkur to Multan and from Multan to Lahore.
This project is expected to be completed in 2.5 years.
During his address at the inauguration, PM Nawaz shed light on the importance of development in Pakistan.
“The project is close to my heart as I always wished to develop a motorway from Karachi to Lahore,” the premier said. “It has always been my dream for Pakistan to have more motorways like countries abroad and have better infrastructure.”
Nawaz also mentioned that due to the situation in Pakistan, the country lagged behind in development but the government’s future aims are to promote more projects to improve infrastructure. He further elaborated that the government’s future plan is to also commence the China-Pak corridor project and the 42-km Malir Express project which will start at the port and connect with M-9.