Lahore-Sialkot motorway Lack of service areas inconveniences travellers.

GUJRAT -- The Lahore-Sialkot motorway (M11) is yet to get the much-needed service areas even two and-a-half years after it was opened for the traffic.

The National Highways Authority (NHA) has failed to complete the construction of service areas. As there is no facility to refuel the vehicles on 103-kilometre long motorway, the risk factor for the motorists having shortage of fuel is always high while travelling on this route.

In the original design of the motorway, at least two service areas have to be built on both sides. It connects the Punjab capital Lahore with industrial towns of Sialkot, Wazirabad and Gujrat. The motorway was opened for traffic on March 18, 2020 and the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) executed the project at a cost of Rs44 billion, reducing the travel time between Lahore and Sialkot to mere 50 minutes from previous two hours travel from GT Road (N5).

The frequent travellers along M11 often complain about a lack of a rest area along the route, causing a sense of fear among them. The civil work on the service area from Sialkot to Lahore is almost complete but, official sources said, it could take several months to make it functional.

Moreover, the construction work on the Lahore to Sialkot side service area had been initiated but the civil work was halted a long time ago as its foundation work was done with small portion of walls. Now it may take some...