By Samia Khalid ISLAMABAD, Mar 04 (INP-WealthPK): Work on several road projects along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is scheduled to be completed in coming months, according to a CPEC Authority official. [caption id="attachment_64441" align="aligncenter" width="696"] Various CPEC Road Projects Near Completion[/caption] In an interview with WealthPK, CPEC Authority official Adnan Khan said, “Our target is to complete the Hakla-DI Khan Road and the Basima-Khuzdar highway, which are expected to be completed by April-June this year.” “The completion of the Hakla-DI Khan Motorway on the CPEC’s western route has proven to be a landmark achievement, paving the way for preparation of the shortest route for logistics moving to and from China’s Xinjiang to Gwadar Port,” he said. The Hakla-DI Khan Motorway's western corridor was recently launched by the National Highway Authority (NHA). The four-lane highway has 11 interchanges, 36 bridges, 119 underpasses, 33 flyovers, and 398 culverts along its 292.5-kilometer length. The freeway had come as a huge relief to the locals, who had to previously spend eight hours travelling on a deteriorating route. The travel duration has been cut to less than four hours after the opening of the Hakla-DI Khan Motorway, WealthPK reported. Talking about the Basima-Khuzdar project, the CPEC Authority official told WealthPK that 70% of the work on the 106km Basima-Khuzdar Road, one of the routes on the western alignment of CPEC, has been completed. Adnan Khan said, “The current connectivity of Gwadar Port is related to the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), although it is a part of the CPEC alignment. The connectivity of Gwadar Port is important, especially for Punjab province, because it has 70% of the total cargo. There was a major missing link between Punjab and Gwadar Port in shape of the Basima-Khuzdar. Due to this, the businessmen preferred to travel via Karachi to reach Lahore because, from Gwadar, the route was too long.” “The economic viability of Gwadar Port is geared towards Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, and Afghanistan. Sindh province already has two ports: Karachi and Port Qasim. Hence, with the completion of the Basima-Khuzdar project, the access of Punjab towards Gwadar Port will be easier,” said Adnan Khan. “In particular, the construction of the western route (Hakla-DIK-Zhob joining Basima-Gwadar) will open up the backward areas of Balochistan and southern KP to national markets,” he added. All of the routes on the western alignment pass through rural areas where poverty rate is higher, employment is scarce, and industrial growth and infrastructure are lacking, so their completion will bring wealth to the region. “The major artery of Gwadar Port, where all of the port’s traffic will pass, is the Eastbay Expressway. The goal of the Eastbay Expressway is to connect the port and its Free Zone to the national highway network for efficient logistic movement of import, export, and transit commodities. The Gwadar Eastbay Expressway is about to be completed and almost 95% of the work is complete,” said the official. The CPEC Authority official said that these infrastructure projects after completion will make Gwadar Port economically viable for the entire country.