ISLAMABAD: The cost of Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway (M-6) is estimated to escalate and reach around Rs400 billion against the initial estimate of Rs308.194 billion.

This was revealed before the Senate Standing Committee on Communications, chaired by Senator Pervaiz Rashid. The committee met to receive a comprehensive briefing on the Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway 306KM (M-6), with special emphasis on the cost evaluation between PSDP and Public Private Partnership.

The NHA chairman said that the revised cost of M-6, if the project is completed through PSDP, is around Rs355 billion. In contrast, if the project is completed through Public Private Partnership, its cost will be Rs399 billion. However, in 2022, the cost of the project was Rs308.194 billion.

The NHA has engaged various stakeholders such as the World Bank, Qatar, Azerbaijan, and the Asia Infrastructure Bank to attract investment. By keeping in view the current policy rate and financial viability of the project, it is expected that the project will be initiated through Public Private Partnership, the NHA chairman mentioned. Additionally, the government has discussed the project in the “Joint Working Group” for its inclusion in CPEC.

While discussing the traffic counts of N-5 and N-55 and their possible diversion to M-6, officials informed that the average traffic counts on N-5 and N-55 are around 18 to 20 thousand vehicles per day. However, it is expected that the traffic diversion from N-5 and N-55 to various segments of M-6 will be around 6 to 46 percent of vehicles per day. Rashid inquired about the preference of freight transport, if travelling from Peshawar to Karachi, between Indus Highways and the Motorway. Officials said that freight transport prefers Indus Highway as the distance on Indus Highways is around 264km shorter than the motorway for the said route.

Furthermore, the committee was briefed on the recent status of PSDP projects undertaken by the NHA. Officials stated that NHA is currently working on 28 projects, of which, nine projects are in Balochistan, five are in Sindh, 10 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa/Gilgit-Baltistan, and four are in Punjab.

NHA Chairman Sheheryar Sultan said that in the current fiscal year, the progress on these projects has been stagnant as NHA has only been granted Rs161 billion against the demand of Rs600 billion. The NHA is working to enhance the allocation for those projects where the physical progress is above 50 percent in the mid-year evaluation, the NHA chairman remarked. Besides funds, the other major reason for stagnancy is the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the areas adjacent to Rajanpur, he added.

The committee decided to invite the planning minister in the next meeting to address the NHA’s concerns. The committee discussed the strength of deputationists working in the NHA. Officials said that, as of now, 54 officers are on deputation, with 30 working in Grade-17 and above, and 24 in BS-16 and below.

The chairman of the committee inquired about the nature of the positions held by these deputed officers. Officials explained that the most deputationists are working on general seats; however, the NHA is currently assessing their performance to determine whether to retain them or not, and a detailed report will be submitted after the completion of the evaluation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025