The Karachi port, Pakistan. [Photo/CFP]

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new expressway linking Peshawar and Karachi was held in Pakistan on May 6, China News Service reported on Sunday.

It is the biggest transportation infrastructure project planned for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and a key project in the Belt and Road Initiative.

With a total contract investment of $2.9 billion, the Peshawar–Karachi expressway will be 392 kilometers long with a designed speed of 120 kilometers per hour.

The expressway starts from Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, in the south, and passes the second largest city, Lahore, before reaching Peshawar, a border town in northwestern Pakistan.

The section between Sukkur and Multan will be undertaken by China State Construction; upon completion, it will greatly improve traffic conditions in the area and play an active role in connecting China and Pakistan.