PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday inaugurated the Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan motorway at a ceremony in Islamabad.
Briefing the Prime Minister, minister for Communications and Postal Services Murad Saeed said that 293 km motorway is an important component of the Western Route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He informed that road has 11 interchanges, 36 bridges, 33 flyovers and 119 underpasses. “With the construction of the road, the DI Khan and North Punjab, Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, will emerge as economic hub,” the minister said.
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Addressing the inaugural function, the Prime Minister paid tribute to the National Highways Authority (NHA) officials and said that the communication ministry has played an important role in developing Pakistan. “Like China, we have to develop long term plans to develop Pakistan,” the prime minister said.
Talking about the motorway project, he said that the road is connecting the backward areas of the three provinces which is a major achievement of the current government. He claimed that the northern route of CPEC would bring innumerable benefits, which would not only reduce the travel time but also help in the development of the area.
The prime minister said that the biggest problem of Pakistan is corruption. “I have been trying to eradicate corruption from Pakistan for 25 years,” he claimed. Referring to the cost of road construction, the Prime Minister said that despite the increase in the cost of construction materials, cost of roads construction has reduced than in 2013, which means that more money was going corrupt officials and politicians. He alleged that in the past roads were not built for the benefit of the country but for making money.
He said in the past, more road should have been built in Balochistan and other backward areas. Imran Khan has said, “the people of Balochistan have a real sense of deprivation, because there is such a large area and there are no roads.” He termed Hakla Motorway as extremely beneficial, saying that it would connect backwards areas and would lead to maximum development.