By Abdul Ghani

The Pakistani government has formally approached China to finance the Rs116.634 billion Khwazakhela-Besham Expressway project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Official documents available with Wealth Pakistan show that the revised PC-I under CSR-2025 was submitted to the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives through the Integrated Project Appraisal System (IPAS) on March 31, 2026, for approval by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).

The project was also presented to the Chinese side during the 12th CPEC Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting on transport held on May 12, 2026, seeking financial support under the CPEC framework.

The project cost has undergone major revisions over the years.

The original PC-I under CSR-2022, approved by ECNEC in July 2022, estimated the cost at Rs79.13 billion. However, after detailed engineering studies and changes in project scope, the estimated cost surged.

Under CSR-2024, the revised estimate reached Rs137.711 billion before authorities scaled back expenditures following the CDWP directions. The cost was then reduced to Rs123.94 billion and later brought down further to Rs116.634 billion in the latest revision.

The 48-kilometre project includes approximately 36 kilometres of a new fenced greenfield expressway, while the remaining 12 kilometres, overlapping with the existing highway, will be upgraded into a two-lane road.

The route will feature massive engineering works, including seven tunnels with a cumulative length of 9.8 kilometres. The longest tunnel will span 7.5 kilometres, while several smaller tunnels ranging from 0.18km to 0.63km are also planned.

Forty-five bridges have also been planned with a cumulative length of 9.4 kilometres, along with five flyovers and 52 box culverts.

Designed for speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour, the expressway will have two lanes measuring 3.65 metres each, with 3-metre shoulders on both sides.

The project has been divided into four construction packages from Khwazakhela to Besham.

Credit: INP-WealthPk