ISLAMABAD, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) — Fakhar ul Hassan, a truck driver from Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province, is among hundreds of drivers transporting cargo from the country’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region to east Punjab Province through Havelian to Thakot highway constructed within the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Sharing his experience about traveling along the new road, Hassan said that he and other drivers of the heavy transport vehicles are delighted that the road has brought convenience to their lives.
The road is one of CPEC’s early harvest fruits. Constructed by the China Communications Construction Company under the Karakoram Highway (KKH) Phase Two project, the 118 km-long road from Havelian to Thakot in KP consists of the expressway section from Havelian to Mansehra district of the province, which inaugurated in 2019, and the Class-Two highway section from Mansehra to Thakot opened for traffic last year.
GREAT CONVENIENCE TO COMMUTERS
The motorway has multiple advantages, and the greatest one is that it has greatly facilitated commuters by shortening travelling distance and bringing them a brisk and smooth ride, Hassan told Xinhua.
“We used to travel for 7 to 8 hours on the old bumpy road from Havelian to Thakot before reaching the Karakoram Highway. Now on the new road, we cover the same distance in less than two hours, and unlike our previous experience on the old road, this one is very smooth and comfortable,” he added.
Inzamam ul Haq, a toll plaza operator, said according to the traffic survey data at just one of the tollbooths of the highway, about 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles travel on the road every day, and during holidays and festivals the traffic doubles.
“Commuters traveling on the road praise it for saving their time and giving them a good driving experience due to the smooth roads and well-built tunnels, which not only saved their time but also made their travel very safe,” he said.
Local commuters also breathed a sigh of relief after the construction of the road, as major traffic load was shifted to the newly constructed road from the old highway that was always choked with the traffic during the peak hours of the day.
“During the peak timing of office and school, it took us hours to wait in the queue on the old highway because all flow of local and outstation traffic was on the same small road. But after this motorway was opened, the major load of outstation traffic, including big trucks and buses, was shifted here, and the intercity commuters are very happy with the CPEC project for bringing ease in their lives,” Khurram Nazir, a local resident working at the motorway, told Xinhua.
TECHNOLOGICAL EXCELLENCE
The road has been made with state-of-the-art technology and has 105 bridges and 6 tunnels.
Wang Benqian, general manager of the KKH Phase Two project, said that apart from the mountainous terrain, the biggest challenge for the construction of the road was the area being located in one of the earthquake-prone zones of the country.
“Through a series of scientific research and technological innovation, the project department ensured that the project completed the construction task with high quality (and) on schedule,” he said.
He noted that they applied Chinese seismic design concepts and technology to the bridge design. “The bridge is located in the level 8 seismic intensity zone with great seismic hazards.”