The M-14 Motorway, also known as the Islamabad–Dera Ismail Khan Motorway () and the Hakla–Yarik Motorway, is a four-lane north–south

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The

is a part of the Western Alignment of the

China–Pakistan Economic Corridor China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC; zh, c=中巴经济走廊, p=Zhōng bā jīngjì zǒuláng; ) is a 3,000 km Chinese infrastructure network project currently under construction in Pakistan. This sea-and-land-based corridor aims to ...

, and offers high speed road connections between the

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

metropolitan area, and the southern parts of

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

province around

Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan (; Urdu and , ), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 10th largest city of Pakistan and third or fourth largest in the province of Khy ...

. The motorway was originally planned to open at the end of 2018, but due to delays, was inaugurated on 5 January 2022.

Route

The

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, turf-cutting, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such cer ...

ceremony took place in May 2016. The four-lane

controlled access A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

motorway extends from the Hakla Interchange on the M-1 Motorway, near

Fateh Jang Fateh Jang (Punjabi and ) is a city in Attock District of Punjab Province, Pakistan. It is located from Attock City, and nearly southwest of Islamabad, Pakistan's capital near M1 motorway. Overview The city is located in between Kala Chitta R ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, to

. From Hakla, the motorway extends in a southwestern direction, passing through the towns of

Pindi Gheb Pindigheb (or Pindi Gheb) (), is a town in Punjab province Pakistan and seat of Pindi Gheb Tehsil (an administrative subdivision) of Attock District.

, Jand, Tarap, and

Mianwali Mianwali (Saraiki language, Saraiki, ) city in Mianwali Tehsil is the capital city of Mianwali District in Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. The Largest cities of Pakistan, 81st most populous city of Pakistan, it is known for its diverse popu ...

. The route transverses the

Sindh Sagar Doab Sindh Sagar Doab (, ''Sind Sāgar Dōāb''), sometimes shortened as Sagar Doab, is a '' Doab'' or tract of land in the Punjab region, lying between the Indus and Jhelum rivers, in present-day Pakistan. It, administratively, covers a huge portio ...

region, and crosses the Indus River near

before entering into

. The motorway continues onwards before terminating near the town of Yarik, just north of

. At the southern terminus of the new Islamabad-Dera Ismail Khan motorway, the

N-50 National Highway The National Highway 50 () or the N-50 is one of Pakistan National Highway running from city of D.I.Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the town of Kuchlak near Quetta via Zhob in Baluchistan, Pakistan. Its total length is 531 km divided into 1 ...

will also be upgraded between

Zhob Zhob (; ), formerly known as Fort Sandeman is a city and district headquarters of the Zhob District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Zhob is located on the banks of the Zhob river. It lies 337 kilometres away from Quetta, the capital ...

and between

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

Specifications

The motorway has 11 interchanges, 36 bridges, 33 flyovers and 119 underpasses. It also has a 100-meter-wide

right of way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

in order to widen the four lane road to six lanes in future as traffic volume increases.

Road safety

Various commuters have identified an exact spot on M-14 where multiple accidents had taken place till January 2022. As a result, the NHA initiated a technical investigation to discover any technical fault on the road surface. So, far the investigation has turned up only over-speeding in rain as the cause of accidents in that particular section of the road.

Construction

Pakistan's Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved construction of this section of roadway in April 2016, while construction commenced in May 2016. Construction was completed by December 2021. Construction proceeded in five packages: * Package 1: Yarik-Rehmanikhel section (contract awarded to M/s NLC). * Package 2: Rehmanikhel-Kot Belian section (contract awarded to M/s SKB-KNK JV) * Package 3: Beruli-Tarap section (contract awarded to M/s FWO) * Package 4: Tarap-Pindi Gheb section (contract awarded to M/s Limak-ZKB JV) * Package 5: Pindi Gheb-Hakla Interchange section (contract awarded to M/s Limak-ZKB JV)

Interchanges

References

External links

* nha.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Press-Release-30.06.2016.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Islamabad-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway M14 M China–Pakistan Economic Corridor