TOBA TEK SINGH: Another inauguration of motorway -- M-4 -- will take place on Toba-Jhang Road near Chak 383-JB Allahar Pind on Saturday.

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had inaugurated the road on May 28, 2018 just three days before end of the PML-N government’s term by unveiling the plaques of one each portion of M-3 and M-4 (Gojra-Toba portion) at Rajana interchange (M-3’s Rajana-Sharaqpur section of Peshawar-Lahore-Karachi motorway). Both motorways were opened for traffic the same day but after the caretaker government came into power, both roads were closed and the National Highway Authority (NHA) claimed that work would be started on incomplete interchanges.

An NHA official said the physical work of Lahore-Abdul Hakeem section of M-3 had already been completed, however, due to some technical issues such as delay in the approval for deployment of motorway police, the section could not be opened on time. Now the section is scheduled to be open to traffic by Feb 15.

Ex-PM Abbasi had partially opened it in 2018

MNA Riaz Fatyana, MPAs Saeed Ahmad Saeedi and Bilal Asghar Warraich and PTI’s central vice president Chaudhry Muhammad Ashfaq are expected to participate in the ceremony.

An official said former PM Abbasi had inaugurated M-4’s Gojra-Toba portion only but now Toba-Shorkot portion of M-4 would also be part of Saturday’s inauguration. He said M-4’s road between Pindi Bhattian and Gojra was already operational and now from Saturday traffic on another 62-kilomtre portion of M-4’s Gojra-Toba-Shorkot would be started.

Out of this 62-km portion, the 31km Gojra-Jamani section had been completed at a cost of Rs8.35 billion and work on this section was completed by M/s Xinjiang Beixin China along with consultants M/S Renardet SA Switzerland while the remaining 31-km Jamani-Shorkot section was completed with the expenditure of Rs8.83 billion and it was constructed by M/S China Railways 1st Group and its consultant firm is M/S Renardet SA Switzerland.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2019