The government has announced plans to complete the Lahore-Sialkot-Kharian-Rawalpindi motorway, a key northbound corridor aimed at providing faster, safer, and more economical connectivity between Punjab’s major economic centers and the federal capital.
Developed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, the motorway is designed as a modern, high-speed corridor to reduce travel time, fuel consumption, and vehicle operating costs.
The first segment, the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway (M-11), spanning 89 kilometers, was completed and opened in March 2020. The six-lane controlled-access motorway begins near the Kala Shah Kaku Interchange and ends at Sambrial. It features seven interchanges, two service areas, mosques, fuel stations, restaurants, executive washrooms, parking facilities, and a trauma and rescue center.
The second section, Sialkot–Kharian Motorway (M-12), covering 69 kilometers, began construction in October 2022 but was temporarily halted in February 2024 after reaching approximately 15 percent completion. The project has since been restructured as a six-lane motorway to ensure long-term capacity and efficiency, with eight interchanges and two service areas.
The Kharian–Rawalpindi Motorway (M-13), 117 km long, has been upgraded to a six-lane motorway with two tunnels, service roads, rest areas, and eight interchanges connecting major cities; the revised plan is awaiting ECNEC approval.
Officials stated that the full Lahore–Sialkot–Kharian–Rawalpindi motorway is expected to be operational within two and a half to three years. Once completed, the upgraded corridor will reduce the Lahore–Islamabad travel distance by approximately 100 kilometers and shorten travel time from three-and-a-half hours to about two-and-a-half hours, providing substantial fuel savings, smoother traffic flow, and improved road safety.
The government emphasized that the motorway corridor is being fast-tracked as a priority initiative and described it as a game-changer for inter-city mobility and national connectivity.
