Pakistan FWO Completes Building Over Half of CPEC Western Route

[Riaz Haq]

“The Frontier Works Organization (FWO) has built roads with 502 kilometers length on the western alignment of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to link Gwadar with other parts of the country. The FWO took up the challenge to extend the benefits of Gwadar port to rest of the country by building roads in rugged mountainous terrain and highly inaccessible areas. The gigantic task was undertaken on the directives of Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif."

Frontier Works Organization

Of the three land routes being constructed as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project to connect Pakistan's deep sea Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea with western China, the western route is the most challenging.  In addition to the difficult mountainous terrain in KP and Baluchistan provinces, the western route runs through Panjgur and Turbat where there is an active Baloch insurgency believed to be aided by India via Afghanistan. It's being built by Pakistan Army's Frontier Works Organization.

Deep Sea Port at Gwadar

Frontier Works Organization:

Frontier Works Organization (FWO) is an administrative branch of the Pakistan Army that includes active duty officers and civilian scientists and engineers which has been involved with the construction of bridges, roads, tunnels, airfields and dams in Pakistan, on the orders of the civilian government of Pakistan, according a Reuters report.

Three CPEC Routes: Western, Central and Eastern

Major Milestone:

The completion of construction of 502 km of the 870 km length of the western alignment represents a significant milestone for Pakistan Army and the Frontier Works Organization.  It is expected to become operational by the end of 2016.

CPEC Projects Map

Indian Opposition:

India has made no secret of its strong opposition to the the CPEC project, and it is believed to be making covert efforts to sabotage it. Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “very strongly” raised the issue regarding China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) during his visit to Beijing, and called the project “unacceptable”.  Swaraj said Modi was “concerned” about the $46 billion project, adding that the Indian government had summoned a Chinese envoy to raise the issue over the corridor that is to run through Pakistani Kashmir. Needless to say that the Chinese dismissed India’s objections to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Balochistan Insurgency:

In spite of Indian RAW's most determined effort to support the Baloch militants' campaign of murder and terror, the Baloch insurgency has been significantly weakened by the Pakistan Army campaign in the province. In 2013 earthquake that struck Awaran,  a stronghold of Baloch insurgents, Pakistan Army moved in with relief supplies to earthquake victims, and managed to gain access to parts of the very volatile district that were considered inaccessible. More recently, the insurgency has been decimated by in-fighting among various Baloch insurgent factions. The 2014 death of veteran Baloch leader Khair Bux Marri has opened up a rift between his sons Mehran and Hyrbyair — who heads the BLA from self-exile in London — and led to the creation of the UBA with other groups also aligning themselves with one side or the other.

Pak Army Chief's Warning:

Pakistan Army Chief Raheel Sharif has shown a strong personal commitment to making it happen by visiting insurgency-hit areas to support the workers and the troops on difficult construction sites. He was emphatic during a ceremony to celebrate the Chinese Army’s 88th anniversary held at the country’s Islamabad embassy where he said, “I reiterate our resolve that any attempt to obstruct or impede this (CPEC) project will be thwarted at all costs".

Summary:

Construction work on CPEC is already stimulating economic activity in Pakistan as indicated by rising domestic cement demand in the country.  It was up 8% year over year in 2014-15.  Cement sales are considered a barometer of development activity.  A recent assessment by Ruchir Sharma, head of Morgan Stanley's emerging markets, has said Pakistan's economy is growing more than twice as fast as emerging markets other than India and China.  In a piece titled "Bucking stagnation elsewhere, the quiet rise of South Asia",  Sharma particularly mentions the Chinese CPEC investment of $46 billion as a positive for Pakistan. "Pakistan’s manufacturing sector is now growing, due to both increasing electric output and the fact that – like Bangladesh – its young population and labour force is expected to continue expanding for at least the next five years", says Sharma.

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[Riaz Haq]

Footprints: Road trip Balochistan
Khurram HusainUpdated November 18, 2016

https://www.dawn.com/news/1297068

THERE was a time when the drive from Gwadar to Quetta could take up to five days, across gruelling jeep tracks. But now you can do it in two if you want to take it easy, or even one if you’re in a rush, on a highway so smooth you can sip tea while driving. How this happened is a story that weaves together the disparate strands that make up Pakistan’s troubled political landscape, as well as the forbidding geography of the terrain through which the road travels.

---

The route takes you across three highways. The M8 motorway from Gwadar to a small town called Hoshab, largely invisible from the road, near Turbat. From there it links up in an elegant Y-shaped turn with the N85, an almost 700km-long highway-grade road that takes you to the N25, which carries you through Kalat and Mastung before arriving at the mouth of the Lakpass tunnel at the entrance of Quetta.

Some commercial traffic has already begun to ply to road, mostly of local origin.
Only a few years ago the journey was nearly impossible to make. When I covered the NFC award ceremony in Gwadar in December 2009, I asked my bureau chief in Quetta about the possibility of travelling there straight from Gwadar.

“Forget it,” he told me. “The road is non-existent and security virtually absent. We go to Gwadar via Karachi.”

This time was different; the road was impeccable. And although security remains a concern, matters are vastly improved since at least a year.

---

“The first year was difficult,” says one of the officers I’m driving with. “IED [improvised explosive device] attacks were common, rocket fire was regular. It was quite difficult working here initially.” Almost 40 people were killed in that first year, half army and half civilian, and another 350 were injured, some seriously.

---
“What is the difference between the way Baloch militants fight versus the TTP,” I asked one of the officers who saw action in Fata.

Traffic is thin on the desolate highway.
“Big difference,” he replied. “First, TTP fighters, once they open engagement, will stay and fight until either you or they are dead. Baloch fighters, on the other hand, don’t stick around very long after the first few shots have been fired. You don’t really get to see them. Second, the TTP are far more tactically sophisticated and will only engage with you when they know they have heavy odds of winning. These guys on the other hand seek an opportunity to exploit, do their work, and flee the scene quickly.”

A map showing the route taken through Balochistan.
The engineers working on the road see it as a hearts and minds project. “With the road, there comes a small cottage industry, and with travel comes exposure,” one of them tells me. A few signs of this can be seen after long intervals, with small tea shops springing up on some stretches of the road; but the region is so desolate that one can travel for almost a hundred kilometres in some places without seeing any sign of life.

This is no ordinary road. The FWO men who built it have spent more than two years deployed in the area. At its peak, there were almost 7,000 of them but now the figure has come down to 5,000 army and 7,000 civilian contractors. “When we first came, many of the people in this area had no concept of the outside world,” one of them tells me. “They viewed us with suspicion. But now that they have had some exposure, and are able to travel more easily, their outlook is beginning to change.”


Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2016

[Riaz Haq]

Western route of CPEC to be completed earlier than eastern route: Chinese envoy

https://dunyanews.tv/en/Business/445901-Western-route-CPEC-eastern-...

Acting Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Zhao Lijan Friday said that under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), western route of the project would be completed earlier than the eastern route.

Speaking at the National Press Club here about CPEC Project, the Chinese envoy dispelled rumors about the Western Route and said that western route of CPEC would be completed earlier than the eastern route.

He said work on various project under the CPEC was going with full speed and 22 projects would be completed during the current year while 18 projects would be completed next year.

He said around 70,000 Pakistanis had got employment in these projects.

The Chinese envoy said under the CPEC, the government had plan to complete a total of 200 projects till 2030 which would provide jobs to hundreds of thousands of people.

He expressed the hope that the next government in Pakistan would also continue the pace of progress on CPEC projects.

About Gwadar Port, he said, Gwadar International Airport would be completed in October this year. He said fisheries was an important sector of Gwadar and establishing a re-processing plant at the port Pakistan could further increase its exports.

He invited the overseas Pakistanis to come to their country and invest in Gwadar Port, adding that more than 30 Pakistanis companies had been registered at the Port.

He said the investors were being provided facilities of electricity, gas, water and wifai.

In energy projects under the CPEC, he said, $13 billion were being invested, adding that several energy projects had been completed which had overcome load-shedding problem in Pakistan to a great extent.

Under the CPEC, he said industrial parts would be established in Pakistan.

To a question, he said Pakistani were hard workers and capable people and if they could make an atomic bomb then stabilizing their economy was not a big task for them. He said in the 1970s decade Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was equal to China, adding that today’s success story of China was a result of hard work and dedication of Chinese people.

He said that China desired improvement in Pak-India relations and both Pakistan and India could resolve their issues with peaceful dialogue.

[Riaz Haq]

CPEC projects: China deposits $1 billion: envoy

https://fp.brecorder.com/2018/06/20180630386244/

• •  NAVEED BUTT

 

• •  JUN 30TH, 2018

 

•  ISLAMABAD

Chinese Deputy Head of Mission Lijian Zhao Friday said that more than 70,000 Pakistanis are working on various development projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) while China has deposited $1 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan.

"China has given a soft loan to Pakistan at around 2 percent interest rate for major infrastructure projects of $6 billion under the CPEC," he added. He said major transport projects included M-5 Motorway project (Multan-Sukkur), Orange Line Metro Train and KKH Phase II (Thakot-Havelian Section)."

About energy projects, he said that China is helping Pakistan overcome energy crisis. He said that as many as six power plants including 2×660MW coal-fired power plants at Port Qasim Karachi, three wind power projects in Sindh, solar power project and Sahiwal coal-based power plants have been completed. He said that 10 power plants including coal and hydropower projects are under construction. He said that these power plants have a total generation capacity of 11,000MW of electricity.

He said that five years earlier, there was seven to eight hours electricity load-shedding daily in Islamabad. But now there is zero load-shedding in Islamabad. He said that sometimes load-shedding in the federal capital occurs due to technical reasons and old transmission lines.

He said that 14 projects are under construction, eight have been completed and 21 projects are in pipeline while their groundbreaking has been taken place. He said that there are 43 early harvest projects under the CPEC and most of them would be completed in 2019. He said that a few hydropower projects are long-term which would be completed in 2023.

About Gwadar free zone, he said that more than 30 Pakistani companies have been registered for Gwadar Free Industrial Zone and more companies are in pipeline. He said that China has constructed 'Business Centre' within a record time of five-and-a-half-month in Gwadar. He said that China Overseas Port Holding Company has also installed desalination plants at Gwadar for supplying drinking water to the people in the port city.

Answering a question, he said that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government had handed over Gwadar to Chinese companies. He said that Gwadar Port is very significant for China, Pakistan and rest of the world. He said that China is also responsible for developing Gwadar free port. He said Part-I of free port was appearing on the ground.

He said that as many as nine industrial parks would be established in Pakistan. He said that facilities of electricity, gas, internet and road, etc, would be provided to the industrial zones.

The Chinese envoy said that Gwadar international airport would be built soon and its groundbreaking ceremony would be held after October 2018.

The Chinese deputy head of mission said a hospital is also operating in Gwadar. He said that fisheries would be a great industry in Gwadar. He said 500 students are studying in a Gwadar school built by the Chinese companies.

Answering a question about western route, he said that propaganda is done in this regard. He said that the western route is also in the interests of China and it would be completed.

Furthermore, he said that China has made tremendous economic growth. He said that now China is working to enhance its gross domestic product (GDP) growth, adding in the next 10 years, GDP of China would be doubled.

Zhao also said that China wants good relationship with every country, including the United States.

[Riaz Haq]

Construction of Hakla-D I Khan Motorway to be completed by June next year

https://www.app.com.pk/construction-of-hakla-d-i-khan-motorway-to-b...

Work of under-construction Hakla-DI Khan Motorway project was continuing smoothly and it was expected to be completed by June next, the revised deadline given by National Highway Authority(NHA).

The motorway forming part of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will reduce travel time between Islamabad and Dera Ismail Khan and boost economic activities in less developed areas of the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, an official of the NHA told APP on Thursday.

The four-lane 285-kilometre north-south motorway which starts from the Hakla Interchange on Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway, near Fateh Jang , and termites at Yarik near Dera Ismail Khan was planned to be completed by end of 2018 but later its completion time was extended to December 2019.

From Hakla, Fateh Jang, the motorway extends in a southwestern direction passing the towns of Pindi Gheb, Tarap, and Mianwali. Then the route will transverse the Sindh Sagar Doab region, and cross the Indus River near Dhup Sarri village near Isa Khail before entering into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The motorway will continue on wards before terminating near the town of Yarik, north of Dera Ismail Khan.

[Riaz Haq]

79pc motorways and 68pc highways completed under CPEC

https://pakobserver.net/79pc-motorways-and-68pc-highways-completed-...

As many as 79% work on motorways and 68% on highways have been completed on eastern and western routes of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), according to Gwadar Pro.Both the Western and Eastern alignments will connect Khunjerab Pass to Gwadar.

The common alignment for all the three eastern, western and central routes including 790 km road from Khunjerab to Burhan and 193 km road from Hoshab to Gwadar has been completed already.

Burhan will be at the intersection of the Eastern and Western Alignment.

According to the officials in the Ministry of Communication, the distance of the Eastern route starting from Islamabad to Karachi is 1,419 km, out of which 79% work on motorways has been completed whereas 21% is left which is 306 km Sukkur Hyderabad motorway.This is the only patch left in the eastern route of CPEC. Sukkur Hyderabad motorway is expected to be complete in the next 30 months. The company which won the tender has already been allowed to start its construction.

On the other hand, the western route of CPEC starts from Islamabad to D. I Khan, then D. I Khan to Quetta, and from Quetta to Gwadar. Excluding the common alignment, the total length of this route is 1,714 km. Out of which 68% has been completed while 32% is under construction.

The Islamabad to D I khan motorway has been completed recently. The very important link of the western route of CPEC is D.I khan to Zoub and Quetta which is 540 km patch.

[Riaz Haq]

Work on CPEC's M-14 Motorway completed

http://en.ce.cn/Insight/202201/04/t20220104_37226065.shtml

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 4 (Gwadar Pro) - Federal Minister for Communication and Postal Services Murad Saeed on Monday announced that the construction on Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway (M-14), a mega project under Western alignment of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), has been “completed with an amount of Rs. 81 billion”.

“Work on Hakla-D.I. Khan Motorway Khan [is] completed; the present Government has invested Rs. 81 billion in this motorway from the national exchequer,” Murad Saeed said in Twitter, adding the construction on the motorway began in 2019.

Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to formally inaugurate M-14 Motorway for public. “The Motorway is ready for operation and will be inaugurated at any time depending on the Prime Minister’s schedule,” an NHA official told Gwadar Pro, on the condition of anonymity.

M-14 Motorway is a 293 km long mega project under the Western Alignment of CPEC, connecting the southern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with the rest of the country that will lead to social and economic prosperity in the area.

The motorway passed through Attock, Mianwali districts of Punjab and reaches KP. The last Interchange of the motorway is Yarik in D.I. Khan while Abdul Khel Interchange opens to Lakki Marwat district of KP. M-14 will mainstream the district of D.I. Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Karak, Bannu and other adjoining areas with the federal capital Islamabad and the rest of the country. In the next phase, M-14 will be connected to Zhob-Quetta (N-50) to establish a link among the upper parts of Punjab, southern KP and Balochistan.

M-14 Motorway will transform the lives of the present and future generations of the entire area economically, financially, socially and educationally.

[Riaz Haq]

For a long time we have known that improved transport accessibility leads to more opportunities and better lives.

ANDREW DABALENSHOMIK MEHNDIRATTA|JANUARY 24, 2022

https://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/knowledge-action-new-way-maxi...

Accessibility describes how easy (or difficult) it is for people to reach services and opportunities. When you look at the data, significant accessibility gaps persist around the world. Globally 51% of individuals living in low-income countries reside within an hour of a city compared to 91% of individuals in high-income countries. This limited access to urban centers hinders rural populations from accessing services and opportunities, including healthcare, education, jobs, and markets. Gender plays an important role as well: as these findings from Pakistan illustrate, women typically must cover greater distances to reach basic services. Even for people living in cities, accessibility may vary depending on the availability of public transport, the impact of traffic congestion.

Lack of access is systematically linked to inferior development outcomes, even more so if motorized transport is not available. The inability to travel to healthcare facilities, for instance, has been associated with increased mortality and morbidity from treatable conditions. Conversely, improved access is often synonymous with improved development outcomes. For example, women with access to roads in Pakistan are twice more likely (14% vs 28%) to go to pre-natal consultations. In rural Morocco, girls’ enrollment in primary schools increased from 17% to 54% when their access to roads improved.

Looking particularly at rural roads investments, the construction of a new road can lead to a chain of positive impacts. When a rural community gets connected to the road network, people who could not reach healthcare, schools, or other essential services before are suddenly able to do so. Workers can access more and better jobs. Farmers can sell their products in more distant markets. But these outcomes can only materialize if rural road projects are carefully planned and prioritized. Also, while investments in road networks are often a critical first step toward enhancing accessibility, they should be integrated into a broader investment package targeting social and technological development overall.

However, transforming this knowledge into action had been hard to operationalize. Lack of data regarding the transport network, opportunities, limited computing power to calculate travel times in large areas and lack of consistent framework had made it hard for us to take this academic research into an operational reality. We needed to understand exactly which transport projects will have the highest impact on accessibility? How would this accessibility transform into household welfare? And how do we create tools to inform planning and investment decisions?

To address these questions, the World Bank’s Transport and Poverty and Equity teams jointly developed a new framework that relies on high-resolution mapping and other sophisticated analytical tools to provide a more granular view of how rural road infrastructure can benefit communities.

We are now able to deploy all that knowledge into operational action, by developing an analytical framework that highlights spatial disparities in access to services and opportunities, calculates the expected gains in accessibility from investments into road infrastructure and thereby informs the placement of transport investments throughout the region.

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan to Spend ‘Bare Minimum’ $6 Billion to Boost Growth
Targets 5% GDP growth next fiscal year to create new jobs
Finance chief sees this year’s fiscal deficit just above 7%
Video player cover image
WATCH: Pakistan's finance minister says the country plans to boost spending on large infrastructure projects by as much as 40% to create jobs.(Source: Bloomberg)
By Faseeh Mangi and Khalid Qayum
May 6, 2021, 8:37 AM PDTUpdated onMay 6, 2021, 9:46 PM PDT


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-06/pakistan-to-spen...


Pakistan plans to boost spending on large infrastructure projects by as much as 40% to create jobs and foster productivity in an economy crippled by the coronavirus pandemic, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said.

The federal government will earmark as much as 900 billion rupees ($6 billion) for development expenditure in the year beginning July, Tarin, who took office last month, said in an interview in Islamabad. The economy needs to expand by 5% next year, he said.

“That’s the bare minimum we need for a country this size,” said Tarin, who is due to present a new budget next month for the world’s fifth most-populous nation. “There are almost 110 million youth.”

Tarin, a former banker, was appointed last month as the fourth finance minister since Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government took power in 2018. He also served in the role between 2008 and 2010, helping the nation avoid default by securing a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. He comes into office as Pakistan faces a third wave of coronavirus cases, prompting authorities to order a week-long shutdown that may weigh on economic activity and hurt incomes.

Tarin’s plan will reverse his predecessor’s decision to lower spending to narrow the budget deficit, which he estimates to be a little above 7% of gross domestic product in the current fiscal year through June, against 8.1% in the previous year. Tarin said he expects the deficit in the next fiscal to be 1 or 1.5 percentage points lower.

While balancing the budget will be key for Pakistan’s current $6 billion loan program with the IMF, the new finance minister is negotiating with the organization for more wriggle room to support economic growth.

The government’s GDP target for next year is a percentage point higher than the IMF’s 4% projection, and Tarin is seeking to boost growth to 6% in the year after. The Washington-based lender sees the economy expanding 1.5% in the current fiscal period after a rare contraction last year.


“We need 2 million jobs every year,” he said. “If we do not go into growth mode, we will have a major crisis on the streets.”

The central bank, which has cut interest rates to a three-year low to support the economy, has been on pause mode for a while and has left some of the heavy lifting to the government.

“First we have to get more revenues,” Tarin said, adding that he’s targeting about 6 trillion rupees next year in tax authority revenue, compared with this year’s 4.75 trillion-rupee target. “Unless we get more revenues, forget about any incentives to boost the economy.”

Other comments from Tarin’s interview:

On talks with the IMF: “All we are saying is that we are just basically going to give them alternate ways of achieving the same objective” including revenue generation and reducing energy debt, adding that the aim is for this to be the last IMF bailout in Pakistan’s history
Plans to tap undrawn allocated funds from Asian Development Bank and World Bank that total $20 billion
Aims to increase tech exports to $8 billion in two years, from an estimated $2 billion this fiscal year, a sector he said that he aims to support
Nation plans to soon launch global sukuk bond

[Riaz Haq]

The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Western Route development is strategically significant to realize broader connectivity and regional common prosperity.

https://www.app.com.pk/global/cpec-western-route-development-strate...

These views were expressed by Cheng Xizhong, visiting Prof. at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, and former Defence Attache in South Asian countries said.


The construction of the Hakla-D I Khan Motorway, a milestone achievement on the CPEC Western Route, has been completed and put into operation, which provides fast connectivity to the locals as well as paves the way for preparing the shortest route for logistics moving to and from northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port.


Now, transportation infrastructure is the top priority. So far, the construction of the 235 km Quetta-Sohrab Road, the 449 km Surab-Hoshab Road, the 193 km Hoshab-Gwadar Road, the 210 km D I Khan-Zhob Road and the 297 km Hakla-D I Khan Motorway have been successfully completed, he said in his article published by China Economic Net (CEN).


Other transportation infrastructure projects on the CPEC Western Route, including the 305 km Zhob-Quetta Road, the 110 km Basima-Khuzdar Road, the Nokundi-Mashkel Road and the 146 km Hoshab-Awaran Road are under construction, especially the D I Khan-Zhob Road and Zhob-Quetta Road under construction will minimize the travel time from the federal capital to Quetta.


Compared with the eastern region, western areas of Pakistan are underdeveloped. Therefore, he believed that the construction of the CPEC Western Route and development of the western areas of Pakistan are of great strategic significance.


First, the construction of transportation infrastructure can drive the development of other infrastructures such as energy, modern agriculture and industry and Special Economic Zones (SEZs), completely changing the long-term lag of social and economic development in the western region and usher in the prosperity in western part of the country.


Second, the surrounding areas of the roads and motorways on the CPEC Western Route comprise of landscapes and farms producing vegetables, pulses, grains and fruits, especially the high-quality mangoes and dates.


Therefore, western development will open up the fertile hidden areas of North Punjab, Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to all kinds of trade and business. Thus, it can promote large-scale employment, eliminate local poverty and enable the local people to embark on the road of prosperity together with people in other parts of the country.


Third, from the perspective of regional connectivity, the construction of the CPEC Western Route has very important regional strategic significance. Western Pakistan is adjacent to Afghanistan and Iran. Once the transportation infrastructure in western part is fully completed, it will create conditions for the CPEC westward extension.


In this way, the prosperity created by CPEC can radiate to the whole Central and West Asia through Afghanistan and Iran, so as to realize broader regional connectivity and regional common prosperity, he said.

[Riaz Haq]

NHA gears up to link CPEC M-14 with Pakistan-Afghanistan border

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/07/05/nha-gears-up-to-link-cp...

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to connect Ghulam Khan in North Waziristan with Motorway 14 (M-14), a project of the western alignment route of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) via a 184km-long Motorway.

According to Gwadar Pro on Tuesday, the National Highway Authority (NHA) on Monday issued a request for proposal (RFP) of consultancy services for the Feasibility Study and Detailed Design for the Construction of the Motorway from Ghulam Khan to Esa Khel Interchange (184km approx).

The project will be financed by the Federal Government through PSDP 2022-23 through separate head/allocation.

In this regard, a pre-proposal conference on the project will be held on July 19, 2022, at NHA headquarters in Islamabad while procurement will be carried out by adopting the “Single Stage Two Envelops” procedure.

The proposals complete in all respects in accordance with the instructions provided in the RFP document in sealed envelopes, which should reach on or before August 10, 2022.

Esa Khel Interchange is located over M-14 in Mianwali district of Punjab, which is in proximity to the Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Between Mianwali and Ghulam Khan falls Bannu district of KP. After Torkham and Chaman, Ghulam Khan is the third most important crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has already started benefiting from Gwadar Port and the country received the first consignment of bulk cargo from the United Arab Emirates in July 2020. Ghulam Khan crossing, at the Pak-Afghan border point, is the shortest route connecting CPEC’s western route with Afghanistan, Central Asian States and beyond.