M-5 motorway | ||||
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ایم ٥ موٹروے | ||||
Multan–Sukkur Motorway | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by National Highway Authority | ||||
Length | 392 km [1] (244 mi) | |||
Existed | 2018 | –present|||
Major junctions | ||||
North end | Multan | |||
South end | Sukkur | |||
Location | ||||
Country | Pakistan | |||
Major cities | ||||
Highway system | ||||
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The M-5 motorway ( Urdu: ایم ٥ موٹروے), also known as Multan–Sukkur Motorway ( Urdu: ملتان سکھر موٹروے), is a north–south motorway in Pakistan, which connects Multan with Sukkur. The motorway is a 392 km long, [2] high-speed (120 km/h), controlled-access, six-lane motorway that forms part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. [3] [4]
It is currently the longest motorway in Pakistan. [5]
The approval for the Multan-Sukkur Motorway (M-5) was granted in July 2014, [6] with an estimated cost of Rs. 200 billion (equivalent to US$2.5 billion in 2023). [7] In May 2016, the Pakistani government awarded the contract to build this section to China State Construction Engineering, [3] with the completion date being August 2019. [3] Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif performed the groundbreaking on 6 May 2016, [8] while the actual ground work started in August 2016.
The M-5 motorway project forms a cornerstone of the much-larger China–Pakistan Economic Corridor. [9] Construction covered 21 Chinese residential camps and 23 Pakistani workers camps with hundreds of working sites, directly providing jobs to nearly 30,000 Pakistanis at peak time. [10] The motorway was inaugurated on 5 November 2019 in the 9th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting in Islamabad. [11]
The total cost of the motorway was estimated to be around $2.89 billion. [5]The Multan–Sukkur Motorway (M-5) cost approximately $2.94 billion, with the bulk of financing financed by various Chinese state-owned banks. [12] 90% of the project's cost was financed through concessionary loans on interest rates of 1.6% from China, while the remaining balance is financed by government of Pakistan. [13]
Starting from Multan, the six-lane motorway passes through Shujabad, Jalalpur Pirwala, Ahmedpur East, Rahimyar Khan, Sadiqabad, Ubauro, and Pano Aqil before it terminates at Sukkur. [5] The project consists of 54 bridges, including one major bridge on the river Sutlej. The motorway has 12 service areas, 10 rest areas, 11 interchanges, 10 flyovers, and 426 underpasses. [14]
This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table.(November 2021) |
Interchange | Exit | Destinations |
---|---|---|
Multan | 1 | Bahawalpur Road |
Shujaabad | 2 | Lodhran Road |
Jalalpur Pirwala | 3 | Lodhran Road |
Bahawalpur | 4 | Bahawalpur-DHA N-5 |
Uch Sharif | 5 | Alipur Rd |
Tarinda | 6 | Tarinda Muhammad Panah Road |
Zahir Peer | 7 | Chachran Sharif Road |
Rahim Yar Khan Toll Plaza | 8 | Rahim Yar Khan N-5 |
Guddu | 9 | Sadiqabad Kashmore Road |
Ghotki | 10 | JDW Unit 3 Sugar Mill Road |
Pano Aqil | 11 | Local Road |
Sukkur | 12 | Rohri/Sukkur N-5 |
700 Billion Pak rupees = $6.6 billion USD as of December 16, 2015