ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives has directed the Ministry of Planning to give top priority to M-6 and M-9 projects.
The committee also proposed an idea that funds should be allocated directly to the provinces so they can undertake development projects independently based on their own needs.
The committee met with Senator Quratulain Marri at Parliament house on Tuesday.
The committee was briefed about all the top-priority motorway projects, upon which, all committee members expressed concerns over recently added Lahore–Sahiwal–Bahawalpur Motorway in the list of prioritised projects.
The committee opined that projects already initiated by NHA and which are of strategic importance be prioritised including the Hyderabad-Sukkur and Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway.
Senator Syed Faisal Ali Subzwari highlighted that, usually, motorways across the world start from port cities, but in Pakistan, the Karachi metropolitan city continues to be ignored. He said that although the Sukkur–Karachi Motorway project was initially announced in 1993, it has yet to be materialised.
Senators Shahadat Awan, Afnanullah Khan and Jam Saifullah Khan seconded Subzwari’s remarks and emphasised to start the said project on urgent basis due to its strategic importance to the country.
The representative from the National Highways Authority (NHA) briefed the committee about the upcoming projects planned for 2025. These include M-6 and M-9, M-25 (Hub to Quetta), Karakoram Highway realignment, Lahore-Sahiwal-Bahawalpur and RatoDero-Gwadar Motorways.
Senator Jam expressed concerns over the functioning of the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and the National Highways Authority (NHA), stating that development projects in Punjab are always prioritised and that the disparity in infrastructure development projects is evident from government sactions.
The committee proposed an idea that funds be allocated directly to the provinces so they can undertake development projects independently based on their own needs.
While briefing about M-9, a NHA official stated that the road-map for M-9 had recently been redesigned to include an elevated structure in Karachi, significantly escalating the project’s cost. He also informed the committee that the Government of Azerbaijan has committed to funding new motorway projects in Pakistan. Once the funds are released, work on the M-9 project will begin, he said.
During the briefing, the chairperson of the committee directed that Karachi-Hyderabad Superhighway should not be referred to or identified as the M-9 Motorway and for the sake of clarification and planning it is essential to distinguish between the two routes and refrain from using the terms interchangeably as M-9 is a designated motorway required to be built as per NHA standards.
The chairperson of the committee recommended to prepare a prioritised list of projects in serial order, highlighting those of highest importance. She further recommended to halt all the new projects until the work on M-6 and M-9 is initiated and also directed to update the committee about the discussions and commitments made with the Government of Azerbaijan in the upcoming meeting.
During the meeting, the State minister Planning, Development and Special Initiatives given undertaking that M-6 and M-9 projects will be started on the top priority before initiating any other motorway project.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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