Rawalpindi-Lahore Motorway First Section is Sialkot-Lahore Motorway is north-south Motorway in Punjab, Pakistan, which is connecting Sialkot to Lahore via eastern parts of the Punjab.Second Section is Kharian-Sialkot Motorway & Third SectionRawalpindi-Kharian Motorway. Total length of this motorway is 288km and first phase was opened on 18 March 2020 at the cost of 44 billion rupees. .It is reducing the travel time between Sialkot and Lahore to just 50 minutes instead of alternative route via N5 / GT Road comprising 145km and taking more than 2 hours.This new road connects SKT/Sialkot and LHE/Lahore Airports junctions with an express travel mode of 1 hour and uplift the Sialkot city and the surrounding rural hinterlands.
Route
This motorway is 4 lane, having 9 interchanges, 8 flyovers, 20 bridges and 18 underpasses.. 3 industrial zones and 2 universities would also be established along with the project. It is linked with M2 and N5 through Lahore link road near Kala Shah Kaku. The route is running parallel to GT road, passing east of Kamoki, Gujranwala, Daska and is ending at Sambrial.
History
The LSM was originally conceived by the Ex-Chief Minister of Punjab, Choudhry Pervaiz Elahi, in 2006 and its foundation stone was laid in 2007 by the ex-President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, its land was acquired but no actual construction work was started. According to the original plan, the LSM would have been opened to the public in 2008 at the cost of Rs 18bn but the Government of Punjab shelved the project due to political reasons. Later Ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, re-ordered construction of the LSM. The National Highway Authority shortlisted only two companies — Frontier Works Organization and a foreign firm for undertaking this project. Lahore Sialkot Motorway is first portion of M-11 which will run parallel to M-2 from Lahore to Islamabad. In next phase of M-11, its extension from Sialkot To Kharian will be constructed and final phase will be Kharian to Rawalpindi Link to.
