LAHORE - The first package of Madr-e-Millat Road, an important part of the Lahore Road Rehabilitation Project Phase-II, was inaugurated at Quaid-e-Azam Town, an LDA-controlled area on Sunday. Launched on special initiative of the Punjab government in 2008, the package had been completed with Rs 850 million. Around 30 kanal of army land that came in the way of road construction was gifted to the Punjab government for benefit of the people. The fist package included construction of 3.5 km long road from Ma-ulana Shaukat Ali Road to Depot Stop Road, eight linking roads spreading over 8 km, trunk sewerage and rainwater drains in different localities of the town. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sh-arif accompanied by lawmakers including Sohail Zia Butt, Naseer Ahmed Bhutta, Zaeem Qadri, Ramzan Sadiq Bhatti and others inaugurated the road on Sunday, and commended the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) for giving its best to construct the state-of-the-art thoroughfare. The FWO DG and officials of Lda, Tepa, Wasa and Nespak were also present on the occasion. The road had to be completed and opened by December 31, 2009. However, due to some problems, it got completed on February 7, 2010. The road is two-carriageway and 33 ft wide with 3 lanes each. Residents of Green Town, Township, Bagrian and neighbouring areas are the main beneficiaries of the road. With the completion of the said segment of the Madr-e-Millat Road, the people can now enjoy modern travelling and transportation facilities. The road will also benefit the Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate widely known as Kot Lakhpat Industrial Estate by facilitating its logistics and transportation. The first phase of Madr-e-Millat Road has connected the Northern and Southern areas of the City by linking Maulana Shaukat Ali Road (Peco Road) to College Road. The initial plan did not include sewerage, which was added later on to make it a sustainable project for the next many decades. The heavy duty sewerage is up to 5 feet wide in diameter and laid about 10-25 ft underneath the road. It will comfortably accommodate the disposal needs of the whole locality. To provide an efficient disposal system, drains have been constructed on both sides of the roads on the first stretch while from Depot Stop onwards it passes through the centre of the road. It is a model road of the City constructed similar to the Main Boulevard Gulberg. An 18 ft median in the centre of the road and a 45 ft wide green belt have added to the beauty of the road. Sodium lights erected in the middle will adequately illuminate the road. Footpaths run on top of the drains. When contacted FWO spokesman told The Nation that the FWO had already rehabilitated over a hundred City roads in 1990. Feroz-pur Road, Main Boulevard Gulbe-rg, Data Dur-bar road were still referred as a model of perfection and professional competence, he added. It may be recalled that Madr-e-Millat Road consists of two packages (phase-I and phase-II). Its total length is 5.6 km. The first package called phase-I starting from Maulana Shaukat Ali Road upto Depot Stop with 3.5 km has been completed and inaugurated. The second package called phase-II from Depot Stop to College Road with 2.2 km and 24 ft wide with two lanes each will be completed soon.