GUJRAT: The completion of KharianSambrial Motorway (KSM) is facing an inordinate delay due to suspension of work for the last few months due to proposed changes in its original design.

This has been for the second time in the last couple of years that the construction work on the route has been halted. Earlier, in 2023, it`s alignment in Gujrat and Sambrial tehsils was changed due to the technical objection to the proposed site of the bridges over Chenab river by the irrigation department.

Originally designed as four-lane expressway (two-lane on each side), the KSM will now have six lanes, with Lahore-Sialkot (M-11) included.

A senior official privy to the development said that the federal ministry of communication had recently decided to add third lane to the LSM and KSM.

Moreover, he said the government had also approved third lane to the Kharian-Islamabad motorway that was in the phase of land acquisition.

An official of the National Highways Authority (NH A) told Dawn the minister for communication Abdul Aleem Khan had chaired a meeting regarding the construction of motorways in Janurary where it was decided to add third to entire route of the Lahore-Sialkot-Kharian-Islamabad motorway.

He said since the new motorway would reduce distance and travel time between Lahore and Islamabad, it was likely to attract more motorists. `Keeping in view the future requirements, the ministry has taken a right and timely decision and halted work to revise cost estimates and address technical requirements,` said the official.

An official of Gujrat district land revenue department said that after the change of alignment in the Kharian-Sambrial motorway, the process of acquisition of newlyselected land had already been made by the land revenue department in collaboration with the NHA.

On the other hand, the farmers whose land has been earmarked for the acquisition of motorway project, say they have been striving hard to get the payment of their land and the matter has been putbefore the concerned authorities time and again but to no avail.

The affected farmers have also organsied a gathering in a village of Gujrat where they lodged a strongprotest against the delayin payment and also urged the government totake notice of their long-standing issue.

The construction work on the KharianSambrial motorway was started in July 2022 and as per stipulated time, it had to be completed within two years but as per the NHA sources the project might gobeyond 2025.

An NHA official said that the scheme was now being revised which would definitely increase its cost due to the expansion of a lane as well as the delay.