The groundbreaking ceremony for the first key highway project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor——the second phase of the Karakoram Highway upgrade (Havelian to Thakot section)——was held on the 28th in the Mansehra area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in northwestern Pakistan｡ Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated the smooth start of the project and unveiled the plaque for the project's groundbreaking ceremony｡
More than 300 China-Pakistan friendly personages, including Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan Murtaza Javed Abbasi､ Chairman of the National Highway Authority of Pakistan Shahid Ashraf Tarar､ Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan Zhao Lijian､ and Deputy General Manager of China Road and Bridge Corporation Liu Jingbo, attended the groundbreaking ceremony｡
The commercial contract for the second phase of the Karakoram Highway upgrade project was signed in December 2015, with a project amount of 133.98 billion rupees (approximately 1.315 billion US dollars)｡ China Road and Bridge Corporation, a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Limited, is responsible for the project construction. It will take 42 months to build a new 120-kilometer-long, two-way four-lane (partially two-lane) expressway and secondary highway between Havelian and Thakot｡
The Karakoram Highway is currently the only land transport corridor between China and Pakistan｡ On the basis of upgrading and renovating the existing highway, the second phase of the project will gradually extend the Karakoram Highway to the hinterland of Pakistan｡ The commencement of this project marks the official launch of the construction of the land transport line that runs through the north and south of Pakistan､ connecting China and Pakistan｡ Once completed, the project will effectively improve local traffic conditions, promote local economic and social development, and further enhance China-Pakistan economic and trade cooperation｡