By Muhammad Faisal Kaleem

 The National Highway Authority (NHA) has finalised all necessary formalities and is set to announce the tendering for the M-6 Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway project within a month. NHA’s Member Aided Projects Ashfaq Ahmad Khan confirmed to Wealth Pakistan that the donor banks had completed their respective board meetings in September and October, during which they finalised pre-committed funding for the project. He added that the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) was the last institution whose approval was pending.

“The NHA received confirmation of around $450 million in funding from IsDB a few weeks ago,” he stated. Ahmad said that physical work on the M-6 would begin immediately after the completion of the tendering process. “The senior management of NHA and Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan are committed to the timely commencement of this project, given its immense public importance,” he added. The M-6 motorway is divided into five sections: Section-I from Hyderabad to Tando Adam, Section-II from Tando Adam to Nawabshah, Section-III from Naushero Feroz to Ranipur, Section-IV from Ranipur to Sukkar and Section-V is from Sukkur to Hyderabad.

The first two sections will be executed under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode in case the financing for the purpose from other sources is not arranged. Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) will fund the Section-III, and sections-IV and V will be funded by IsDB. The six-lane M-6 motorway project spans a length of 306 kilometres. It is relevant to mention here that NHA last year terminated the concession agreement with M/s Techno-CMC (TECMC) Private Limited for construction of this motorway after the firm failed to submit its financial close despite many extended deadlines.

NHA and TECMC signed the agreement in December 2022 for the construction of the motorway on build-operate-transfer basis (PPP agreement) at a cost of Rs307 billion after its approval by Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A) board. The current estimated cost of M-6 Motorway project is $1.7 billion. Previously, this project has faced several delays and financing challenges. As per information, the estimated cost increased from $617 million in 2018 to $1.1 billion in 2022 and now stands at $1.7 billion in 2025.

This milestone project will bridge the final gap in the Karachi-Peshawar Motorway, forming a continuous north-south economic corridor. By enhancing connectivity and regional integration, the M-6 directly benefits citizens through improved mobility, economic growth, and greater access to markets and services. According to the statistics, NHA anticipates to divert around 46,000 vehicles daily to the M-6 Motorway from two major connecting highways, including 34,695 vehicles from N-5 and 11,538 vehicles from N-55.

In parallel, the M-10 Motorway (Karachi Northern Bypass) is being upgraded and extended to link Karachi directly with the M-6 at Jamshoro. This extension in the project aims to establish a high-capacity route for both commercial and passenger traffic from Karachi Port to M-6.

Credit: INP-WealthPk