Federal, Sindh govts agree to construct motorway from Karachi to Sukkur

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Federal Minister of Communication Aleem Khan, during their meeting at the CM House, agreed to build the M6 Motorway not from Hyderabad to Sukkur but from Karachi to Sukkur via Hyderabad.

Officials said they agreed to explore the possibility of constructing the motorway through a public-private partnership (PPP) or a consortium to be formed by the provincial and federal governments. The CM said his team would study the options and ways to make this happen.

This emerged in a meeting held between the two at the CM House on Thursday morning. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh, Secretary Works Mohammad Ali Shaikh, (from the federal government) and Federal Communication Secretary Ali Sher Mehsud, Chairman NHA Shaharyar Sultan, Director Hassan Shah, Member NHA Sindh Zone Parkash Lehano and Member West Zone Basharat.

The project envisages the construction of a 306-kilometre long, six-lane wide, access-controlled Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway. The motorway is proposed as a high-speed toll road facility for efficient and safe transportation, which will start from Hyderabad and terminate at Naro Canal.

It was pointed out that the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement for the construction of the Motorway (M-6) project was signed with a private consortium in December 2022, but due to some reason the work could not be started and the partnership was cancelled.

The federal minister proposed to the CM that the M6 may be started from Karachi via Hyderabad to Sukkur instead of being initiated from Hyderabad to Sukkur to facilitate the port traffic also. The CM agreed to the proposal and discussed the modality of its construction.

During the discussion, it was agreed that the M6 would be constructed from Karachi to Hyderabad and Sukkur in PPP mode. Finally, another proposal was discussed under which the federal and provincial governments may form a consortium to construct the road on equal partnership. At this, the CM said that his team would study the proposal and get back to the ministry.

CM Shah urged the federal communication minister to approve handing over the Lyari Expressway so that it could be opened for heavy traffic. He said that the Sindh government would upgrade the Lyari Expressway within six months and then open it for heavy traffic also.

The federal minister told the CM that the chief secretary of Sindh and the federal communication minister would hold a meeting and discuss the ways and means to hand over the expressway to the Sindh government.

The chief minister and the federal minister also discussed the NOC issue of Link Road interchange pending in the NHA. The minister said that before his meeting with the CM he had issued the NOC by the NHA.

In the meeting, the chief minister pointed out that the work on the road from Gharo to Keti Bundar, 90km, was started in 2015 and 15 years had passed but it had not been completed yet.

The CM was told that out of 90km, 59km of the road has been completed upto the Gharo at Baghan City. The remaining 31km of the road from Baghan to Keti Bandar was yet to be completed. At this, the secretary communication told the CM that the tender for the remaining road has been initiated and shortly would be started

The condition of Thatta to Keejhar road constructed by the NHA recently came under discussion. Secretary Works Mohammad Ali Khosa told the meeting that the road has developed craters at different locations due to recent heavy rains. The chairman of the NHA told the CM that he had ordered an inquiry.

The CM proposed to the federal minister to hand over the road from Thatta to Kotri to the provincial government, which would construct it on its own. At this, the federal minister said that the roads which the provincial government was willing to construct would be allowed.

Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah and the federal communication secretary would discuss the matter and decide as per the policy.

CM Shah said that work on the Ghotki-Kandhkot bridge project was in progress and the NHA has to issue an NOC for the construction of the Thul Link Road. At this, the minister for communication said the NHA has issued the NOC.

When the CM raised the issue of the pending completion of Jamshoro-Sehwan Road, the federal minister assured the CM that it would be completed by March 2025.