The federal government has announced that building of the Karachi-Sukkur motorway will begin in 2025.
Addressing a meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday, Federal Minister for Communications Aleem Khan stated that the motorway will connect Karachi Port to Sukkur, providing a key link between the country’s north and south.
The highway would be built through a public-private partnership, with the government urging the Sindh government to join the project. If a partnership is not formed, the federal government will shoulder the project’s expenditures. He stated that once finished, the Karachi-Sukkur Motorway is estimated to earn Rs. 3,000 billion in income over the next 25 years.
Previously, the Sindh government and the Centre decided to build the M6 Motorway on a separate track from Karachi to Sukkur instead of starting from Hyderabad to Sukkur. They also decided to look into the possibilities of developing the highway through a public-private partnership (PPP) or a consortium created by the Sindh and federal governments.
The agreement was reached during a meeting at CM House attended by Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, CM’s Secretary Raheem Shaikh, Secretary Works Mohammad Ali Shaikh, Federal Communication Secretary Ali Sher Mehsud, NHA Chairman Shaharyar Sultan, Director Hassan Shah, Member NHA Sindh Zone Parkash Lehano, and Member West Zone Basharat.
The federal minister recommended that the M6 be built from Karachi to Sukkur via Hyderabad rather than Hyderabad to Sukkur to improve port traffic. The CM approved the plan and discussed how it would be constructed.