M-2 motorway (Pakistan)

M-2 motorway
ایم ٢ موٹروے
لاہور-اسلام آباد موٹروے
Route information
Part of AH1 AH4
Maintained by National Highway Authority
Length	375 km (233 mi)
Existed	1997–present
Major junctions
North end	Islamabad
Major intersections	M-4 Motorway Interchange M-3 Motorway Interchange Babu Sabu Interchange
South end	Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore
Location
Country	Pakistan
Major cities	Chakwal Kallar Kahar Bhalwal Pindi Bhattian Sheikhupura Kot Abdul Malik
Highway system
Roads in Pakistan

The M-2 Motorway or the Lahore–Islamabad Motorway (Urdu: لاہور-اسلام آباد موٹروے) is a north–south motorway in Pakistan, connecting Rawalpindi/Islamabad to Lahore, and is the first motorway to have been built in South Asia.^[1] The M-2 is 375 km long and located entirely in Punjab. It continues on to eventually become the M-1 motorway, which terminates in Peshawar. The M-2 crosses the junction of M-4 (to Faisalabad) at Pindi Bhattian and M-3 (to Multan) at Dera Saithan Wala. The motorway is also a part of the Asian Highway AH1. The motorway was constructed during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's rule and cost over Rs. 60 billion (equivalent to US$2.8 billion in 2023) and was opened in November 1997. One of the most expensive motorways in Asia, it also has one of the highest pillared-bridges in Asia at the Khewra Salt Range section.^[2]

There are ten service and rest areas on both sides of the motorway, with fueling, car wash, and car-repair facilities, and fast-food restaurants such as KFC, McDonald's, and Gloria Jean's Coffees, among others.^[3]

In 2016, the entire motorway was resurfaced—work that stretched over several months. New toll plazas were installed on every interchange. They are payable with a new M-tag system that was introduced in December 2021.^[4]