M5 motorway (Pakistan)


The M5 is a north-south motorway in Pakistan, which connects Multan with Sukkur. This motorway is 392 km long and six lanes wide.

History

Approval for the Multan-Sukkur Motorway was granted in July 2014. In May 2016, the Pakistani government awarded the contract to build this section to China State Construction Engineering, with the completion date being August 2019.
Former Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the motorway on 6 May 2016. Actual ground work started in August 2016. The M5 Motorway project forms a cornerstone of the much-larger China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Cost and Financing

The Sukkur - Multan Motorway cost approximately $2.94 billion, with the bulk of financing financed by various Chinese state-owned banks.
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.

Route

Starting from Multan the six lane motorway passes through Jalalpur Pirwala, Ahmedpur East, Rahimyar Khan, Sadiqabad, Ubauro and Pano Aqil before it terminates at Sukkur. 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. The motorway was inaugurated on 5 November 2019.

Interchanges