Islamabad:
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb assured the National Assembly on Thursday that the Succo-Hyderabad-Karachi motorway is important for Pakistan’s financial connection and will be completed at all costs.
In response to concerns that legislators raised, the minister said the project has been prioritized and will move forward with funding either through foreign sources or the public sector development program (PSDP).
He said that the federal budget is currently completed and that the Minister of Planning will be informed of the importance of the project so that appropriate allocations can be made.
Prime Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Chaudhry Armaghan Subhani, while responding to a attention to the project’s exclusion from PSDP 2024-25, he stated that even initiative under several financing mechanisms.
He added that the Ministry of Communications has already proposed RS10 billion to M-6 in the next PSDP, with the figure subject to revision.
“This project is not only reflected in PSDP, but is also supported through foreign funding and public-private partnership models (PPP),” he said, adding that basic work is underway to start the project in the next financial year.
He stated parliament that global financial institutions, including Asian Development Bank (ADB), are interested in co -finance the highway and that negotiations are underway.
By rejecting allegations of regional favorites, he said M-6 is not a Punjab-centered project pointing out that only an 18-kilometer stretch falls in Punjab, while the rest cover Sindh and Balochistan.
