ISLAMABAD - The National Highway Authority (NHA) is preparing to float an international tender for the construction of Sialkot-Kharian Motorway in next few months.

According to the official documents, the project is proposed to be completed on public private partnership (PPP) mode in which the concessioner will built, operate and maintain the motorway for an agreed time period and hand it over to the NHA once the term would be expired. 

The said motorway will start from Sambrial Interchange, an end point of Lahore-Sialkot Motorway, and terminate at Kharian on N-5 (G.T Road). The total length of the motorway will be 69km including 60km main motorway and 9km long link expressway.

The commercial feasibility of the project has already been done. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs.43.38 billion however it is calculated that 56 percent of the total cost would be provided by concessioner while government would also contribute 44 percent as viability gap funding.

The estimated time period to complete this motorway is 30 months.     

The motorway would have 4 lanes but the structure would be built for 6 lanes. The total right of the way of this motorway would be 100 meter wide while the road would be divided with the help of New Jersey barriers as median.      

Two main toll plazas and five interchanges are included in the project in addition to a service area on this motorway.  

The Sialkot Kharian Motorway traverses major populated areas of Gujrat i.e. Jalapur Jattan, Peru Shah, Daulat Nagar, Gulyana and terminates near Kotli Bajar where it will be connected via link highway to G.T Road with grade separated interchange.     

When contacted, the Member Planning NHA Muhammad Asim Ameen informed the Nation that the commercial feasibility for the project had been done and the PC-I had also been approved by the ECNIC.

He said in next few months we would be able to float an international tender for this project under PPP mode but the on ground developments would also take 4-6 more months as the concessioner would also require its own feasibility study and financial arrangements.  

On the other side, sources said that the development on the next phase starting from Kharian to Rawalpindi was still a distant dream because its commercial feasibility was on very initial stages and even its alignment was yet to be finalised.  

The Lahore-Sialkot-Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway is a decade old project to provide an alternate motorway route between both provincial and federal capitals.

 It was envisioned that it would not only reduce the travelling time but would also provide a breathing space to overloaded N-5 commonly known as G.T Road.

The project was divided into three phases and its first phase of a 103km long motorway from Lahore to Sialkot has already been completed in March 2020.