Islamabad, 31 May 2022 (TDI): After proposing the cheapest cost, a joint venture of China’s Zhongding Int’l Engineering Co. and Pakistan’s Progressive Technical Associate (PTA) reached a contract to construct the 55-kilometer-long Awaran-Jhal Jhao road in South Balochistan.
A joint venture of Pakistan’s Progressive Technical Associate and China’s Zhongding Int’l Engineering Co will build the 55-kilometer Awaran-Jhal Jhao road in South Balochistan.
The National Highway Authority had proposed the project with a cost estimate of Rs6.06 billion, according to Gwadar Pro. The ZIEC-PTA joint venture, on the other hand, agreed to build the road for Rs5.15 billion.
According to NHA, a contract has been inked with the JV for this purpose.
The initiative is part of the government’s effort to rebuild and expand the Hoshab-Bela route, which once linked Gwadar and Karachi but was abandoned after the Makran Coastal Highway was built in 2004.
The road languished in a deteriorated state for about two decades before the government decided to renovate it as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)’s alignment, which connects Gwadar with Karachi and Sindh.
After Completion :
The link is projected to resurrect economic activity in Balochistan’s least developed Awaran area when completed. It would not only restore Awaran’s reputation as a vital link between Sindh and Balochistan, but it will also assist local farmers in transporting their agricultural goods to Karachi for a higher return.
Awaran is a district in the Kalat division that has a border with Makran. Gwadar is a Makran division district.
At Hoshab, this vital east-west route intersects the CPEC’s Gwadar-Turbat-Hoshab Motorway (M-8) and the Quetta-Karachi N-25 Highway. The Hoshab-Bela link’s 146-kilometer Hoshab-Awaran and 80-kilometer Jhal Jhao-Bela sections are already under construction.
As part of the CPEC western alignment, the ZIEC-PTA joint venture is also building the Quetta-Khuzdar portion of the N-25 Highway.
Federal Government’s RS 400 billion South Balochistan package :
Besides this, Makran Coastal Highway and the Khuzdar-Basima Road, the Hoshab-Bela road would connect Gwadar with Sindh as the third east-west link between the western and eastern alignments of CPEC.
These key corridors were declared as part of the federal government’s Rs400 billion South Balochistan package, which aims to alleviate poverty and boost economic activity in the province’s most impoverished areas.
The 449-kilometer Hoshab-Surab road (N-85) has been finished and declared operational, according to a CPEC Authority official, while the 235-kilometer Surab-Quetta (N-25) road has also been completed and made operational.
In addition, the 193-kilometer Gwadar-Hoshab (M-8) road and the 250-kilometer Ratodero-Khuzdar (M-8) road were built and made operational, according to the official.
