This section of M-4 is another milestone in upgrading and decongesting the country's overburdened transport infrastructure.
Besides, it will boost trade and travel activities while reducing cost and time between the textile producing hub Faisalabad in the Central Punjab to Multan which is a major trade center in the Southern Punjab.
The M-4 will open up new opportunities for the residents of Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh and Shorkot by providing faster access to bigger markets, said a press release.
The M-4 Section-1 (Faisalabad-Gojra) 58-km stretch has already been completed with the assistance of Asian Development Bank (ADP) and open to traffic in March while construction of Section-2 (Gojra-Shorkot 62-kms) road will start now.
The M4 will upgrade the country's vital north-south road network for promotion of economic growth, job creation and regional connectivity.
It will extend the already completed M-1, M-2 and M-3 motorways southwards and shorten the distance between Multan and twin cities of Islamabad-Rawalpindi in the north.
The M-4 is also a step in making the country a transit artery for goods moving between the port city of Karachi/Gwadar in the south to Torkham on the northern border with Afghanistan via the country's major business and populated centers.
It will eventually link ports with the land-locked regions of the Central Asia.