Daily Times

KARACHI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday inaugurated the M9 Motorway that links Karachi to Hyderabad.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the prime minister said that the government had made great advancements with regards to the economy and promised that the motorway would be completed by 2018.

The M9 Motorway is a 136-km long six-lane highway with four interchanges and will link Karachi to Hyderabad, at a cost of Rs 36 billion. While addressing the ceremony, Nawaz Sharif expressed his appreciation of the development that had taken place in the country recently. He also emphasised the need for development of infrastructure in Pakistan.

He said, “If there will be roads, then there will be hospitals. If we have roads, we will have schools. Roads are very necessary and that is why in order to have progress, a country must build roads.”

The prime minister opined that in order to understand the importance of infrastructure, it was important to have a healthy relationship with the people of Pakistan. Indirectly referring to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and its chairman, Nawaz said that certain elements in the country were engaged in misguiding the youth of the country.

He said, “There are certain people who, for their personal interests, are busy in misguiding the youth,” adding that those who travel by helicopters and airplanes should experience the roads.

The premier also spoke about the development currently taking place in Balochistan. He said that the whole world was witness to the enormous leaps in development that had occurred in the province. He added, “Our entire focus is on the development of infrastructure in Balochistan.”

Nawaz also talked about how the country was on the brink of bankruptcy when he had taken over the government. “Pakistan’s economy was now standing on its own two feet,” he added.

He also talked about how the incumbent government had successfully addressed the menace of load shedding in Pakistan. The premier also expressed the hope that the Thar coal project would successfully produce cheap electricity.

Upon arriving in Karachi, the prime minister was given a warm welcome by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and the newly-appointed Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubari.