M-8 motorway (Pakistan)
The M-8 (Urdu: موٹروے 8) is an east–west motorway in Pakistan, connecting Sukkur- Larkana to Gwadar. The motorway partly currently under-construction, while the 193 kilometer stretch between Gwadar and Hoshab was inaugurated in February 2016. A timeline for the completion of the motorway is not available due to the difficult terrain in which the motorway is being constructed.
| |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Maintained by National Highway Authority & Frontier Works Organization | |
| Length | 892 km[1] (554 mi) |
| Major junctions | |
| East end | 'Sukkur |
 N-55 National Highway N-10 National Highway | |
| West end | Gwadar |
| Location | |
| Major cities | Khuzdar Shahdadkot |
| Highway system | |
| Roads in Pakistan | |
Route
The Ratodero Gwadar Motorway (M-8) will start from Ratodero in Sindh Province and enter Balochistan Province passing near the towns of Khuzdar, Awaran, Hoshab, Turbat before joining the Makran Coastal Highway just east of the port city of Gwadar. The M8 will cross the Dasht River and pass near the Mirani Dam in Balochistan Province. The M8 will have 4-lanes and a total length of 892 km. Initially, 2-lanes will be constructed after the completion of which another 2-lanes will be added, thus making a total of 4-lanes.
Construction
The M8 is being constructed by Pakistan's National Highway Authority. Construction of the M8 commenced on 15 October 2004.[2] According to a newspaper report of July 23, 2015 the construction arm of Pakistan army, Frontier Works Organization (FWO) has completed 502 of 870 kilometer of this road.[3] The work started simultaneously from the junction with the Makran Coastal Highway (MCH) and from Ratodero in Sind. As of January 2015 the road is completed except for some bridges from MCH to a point near Hoshab where it joins N85 (Hoshab-Panjgur-Besima Highway) and Hoshab-Bela Road. The M8 Motorway will be following the alignment of N85. From the Ratodero end M8 to Khuzdar is almost complete except for a difficult section going over the peaks of northern Kirthar range about seventy km east of Khuzdar.
CPEC
M8 motorway is part of CPEC central Route. Motorway half part from gawadar to hoshab is operational with 2 lane. Other 2 lane will be added after M8 will be fully operational. Motorway is operated by NHA & FWO. On 16 July 2020,ECNEC awarded Rs26bn for 146km Hoshab-Awaran-Khuzdar Section.
Junctions
| M8 Motorway | ||
| Southbound exits | Junction | Northbound exits |
| Makran Coastal Highway (N–10) |  |
Start of motorway |
| Turbat |  |
Turbat |
| Hoshab |  |
Hoshab |
| Start of motorway |  |
Awaran |
See also
- China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
- Motorways of Pakistan
- National Highways of Pakistan
- Transport in Pakistan
- National Highway Authority
