ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa said on Friday that about 80pc work on the Gwadar East Bay Expressway has been completed.
Asim Bajwa, who is also the Chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (CPEC), also shared some pictures of the expressway through his Twitter account, showing asphalt work underway on the road.
He said the expressway would help boost the country’s port operations, adding that the project would prove to be the main artery of Gwadar Port through which the entire traffic of the port would flow.
According to a statement, the Gwadar East Bay Expressway would provide connectivity of the Gwadar seaport and its free zone with the network of national highways to ensure fast transportation of import, export and transit goods.
Currently, the Gwadar deep sea port is connected through a narrow 16 feet wide thoroughfare of Gwadar Town at the West Bay. All the trawlers and trucks loaded with imported shipments pass through this strip, causing disruption of normal traffic.
The port did not have a dedicated wide highway to cater to the transporting requirements of the port.
Port operation, even with the available three multi-purpose berths, necessitated construction of the planned East-Bay Expressway. This 6-lane expressway along with a provision of 30 meters wide railway corridor will connect the port with the Mekran Coastal Highway (N-20) through the 2,300 acres Free Trade Zone of Gwadar Port.
