ISLAMABAD – M-13 Motorway project has been awarded to Frontier Works Organization (FWO), as six-lane corridor promises to reshape travel between Kharian and Rawalpindi, cutting journey times, and opening faster gateway linking northern Punjab with the twin cities.
M-13 will connect Kharian with T-Chowk near Rawat, Rawalpindi, providing a direct route to the twin cities while significantly improving regional connectivity. The new motorway will also integrate with the M-11 Lahore–Sialkot Motorway at Kharian, creating a shorter corridor between Lahore and Rawalpindi and reducing travel distance by approximately 100 kilometres, a move expected to save commuters both time and fuel.
The project’s estimated cost surged to around Rs205 billion, more than double the Rs96 billion approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in January 2022. The sharp increase follows the decision to expand the motorway from four lanes to six under the directives of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to accommodate future traffic demand.
The motorway will be executed under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, with the federal government committing over Rs40 billion in viability gap funding to ensure the project’s financial feasibility.
Officials said M-13 will provide a much-needed alternative to the heavily used Lahore–Islamabad Motorway (M-2), easing congestion while facilitating faster movement of passenger vehicles and freight traffic between Punjab’s industrial hubs and the federal capital.
The motorway will feature interchanges at Sarai Alamgir, Jhelum, Dina, Sohawa, Gujar Khan, Mandra, Banth Moor, Chak Bali, and T-Chowk (Rawat), enhancing connectivity for several key urban and rural centres along the route.
Once completed, M-13 is expected to become one of Pakistan’s most significant motorway projects, strengthening the national highway network, improving logistics efficiency, and supporting economic activity across the region.
