The N-10 or National Highway 10 (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' national highway National highway or National Highway may refer to: * National Highways (England) * National Highway (Australia) * List of National Roads in Belgium * Brunei National Roads System * National Highway System (Canada) * Trans ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

which extends along Pakistan's

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...

coast from

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

province to

Gwadar Gwadar ( Balochi/ ur, ) is a port city with located on the southwestern coast of Balochistan, Pakistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea opposite Oman. Gwadar is the 100th largest city of Pakistan, according to the 2017 ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

province. It passes the towns of Ormara and Pasni.

Background

The idea of exploiting the potential of the large coastal belt was under discussion for a long time. The decision to build a port in Gwadar was initially taken in the early 1990s when the hydrocarbon-laden and mineral-rich Central Asian Republics gained independence after the breakup of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. The construction of the Makran Coastal Highway was essential to the development of the port of

. Without the Highway, Gwadar would have been an island sitting without the bridges that connect it with

in the south and the rest of Pakistan and the larger world around in the north and the west. Another key connection of an established infrastructure in this part of the country: it offers

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

a potential alternative to the vulnerable choke points in the Malacca straits. Prior to the construction of the Makran Coastal Highway in 2004, Karachi was linked to Gwadar via an uncarpeted "jeep" or "dirt" track. The journey between Karachi and Gwadar used to take at least two days and took a heavy toll on the "wear and tear" of vehicles. It was considered preferable to take the safer but longer route via

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...

. After completion of the Makran Coastal Highway, the average journey time between Karachi and Gwadar has been reduced to only 6 to 7 hours and transportation costs have also been reduced. The Makran Coastal Highway was planned and built by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

with the following objectives: * To develop infrastructure and boost economic activity in the areas along Pakistan's coastline * To improve the transportation and communications infrastructure in Balochistan province * To develop the coastal towns of Ormara, Pasni and Gwadar into major port cities * To link Ormara, Pasni and Gwadar with the rest of Pakistan's national highways network * To develop the seafood industry along Pakistan's coastline by reducing the time and costs involved in transporting fresh seafood from seafood catchment areas to major cities in Pakistan as well as export processing zones in Karachi and Gwadar

Construction

The construction contract for the Makran Coastal Highway was awarded to Pakistan's

Frontier Works Organisation The Frontier Works Organization ( ur, )); abbreviated as FWO), is a military engineering organization, and one of the major science and technology commands of the Pakistan Army. Commissioned and established in 1966, the FWO includes active duty ...

(FWO), which built the

Karakorum Highway The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...

. Construction work on the Makran Coastal Highway Project commenced in 2002 and was completed by 14 December 2004, in a period of three years.

Management and maintenance

The Makran Coastal Highway is managed and maintained by Pakistan's

National Highway Authority The National Highway Authority (NHA; ur, ) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Communications (MoCom) of Pakistan. History In 1978, the Government of Pakistan federalised five important inter-provincial roads and named them ''National ...

Gallery

File:Princes of Hope, Hingol National Park, Pakistan.jpg, "Princess of Hope" along the N10 Image:Makran_Coastal_Highway.JPG, Makran Coastal Highway (N10) File:Makran coastal highway.jpg, Truck on the N10 File:Hingool Nationa Park and Makran Coastal Highway.jpg, N10 through

Hingol National Park Hingol National Park or Hungol National Park ( ur, ) is the largest national park in Pakistan, located in the Makran coastal region. The park covers an area of about and is located 190 km from Karachi in the three districts of Gwadar, Lasbe ...

File:Golden Beach Hingol.jpg, N10 on the Golden Beach

References

External links