China, Pakistan Kick Off Economic Corridor Project Despite India's Reservations

[krash]

The news is authentic:

HAVELIAN: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif performed the ground breaking ceremony of the Hazara Motorway in Havelian on Saturday.

This important road link is part of Pakistan-China Economic Corridor agreement.

The 60 km long 4 lane fenced expressway will cost thirty three billion rupees. Hazara Motorway will reduce the drive time from Islamabad to Havelian to just 30 minutes in addition to providing road to the Havelian Dry Port project. Kohistan, Batagram, Mansehra, Abbottabad and Haripur will be linked to Motorway.

The project is a translation of Prime Minister’s commitment to expand the networks of motorways to build a progressive Pakistan. The project will create hundreds of thousands of employment opportunities, possibilities of new business ideas and socio-economic uplift of the whole region.

Earlier, the Prime Minister was briefed on the project by National Highway Authority Chairman Shahid Ashraf Tarar. On arrival, the Prime Minister was welcomed by the PML-N leadership including Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousuf, Governor KPK Mehtab Ahmad Khan, Deputy Speaker National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbasi and Retd Capt Safdar.

PM performs ground breaking ceremony of Hazara Motorway | PAKISTAN - geo.tv
PM Nawaz to inaugurate Hazara Motorway tomorrow – The Express Tribune
PM performs ground breaking ceremony of Hazara Motorway - thenews.com.pk


Seems like I was correct. According to the articles above the Hazara Motorway will connect Islamabad to Havelian. So the route would be Islamabad to Hasanabdal via M1 then from Hasanabdal to Havelian (55 km) via the Hazara Motorway. Then, most probably, later on one from Havelian to Mansehra via Abottabad. This is brilliant! I for one won't miss the old death-road.

Edit-----------------------


Yup I am correct. Found this map somewhere,

Hazara Motorway/Expressway Route Map

Notice the P4, P5 and P6 connecting till Mansehra. The travel time from Islamabad to Havelian though is estimated incorrectly as 30 min. It will take you 30 min to get from Hasanabdal to Havelian at 120 km/h but you still have to take into account the time taken to get to Hasanabdal from Islamabad.

 

[Donatello]

Sixty kilometers down, only six hundred more to go. Once complete this new KKH would be worth a driving adventure for the entire world for sure.

A good part of KKH which actually passes via Karakoram and Himayalas, cannot be built into 4 lane motorway without humongous cost, plus it will get washed in the winter. The terrain is very unforgiving.

 

[krash]

A good part of KKH which actually passes via Karakoram and Himayalas, cannot be built into 4 lane motorway without humongous cost, plus it will get washed in the winter. The terrain is very unforgiving.

They are already expanding it from a 2 lane (Barely a lane and a half) to a 4 lane highway. The width is being increased to three times as before and this will do amply well for the foreseeable future.

From this:

To this:

A 4 lane motorway, as you said, is infeasible, the maintenance would be beyond a nightmare. Interesting to note that due to this very reason some stretches, although being expanded, aren't being expanded as much as the picture above.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Connecting Gwadar to northwest/ Xinjiang (via road, rail) has been a mutually agreed upon objective for quite some time now and its in the works. Nothing new here. As for reservations of india - hardly are they well-founded & hardly do we care, its irrelevant

Sixty kilometers down, only six hundred more to go. Once complete this new KKH would be worth a driving adventure for the entire world for sure.

I'm still dreaming to off-road and venture again @ Makkran Coastal highway.....its majestic out there.