ISLAMABAD – Expressing serious concern over the performance of the National Highway Authority (NHA), the Planning Committee chairperson directed that work on the M-6 project must begin by October 2025. She warned that if the deadline is not met, the matter would be referred to the Upper House for intervention. The chairperson further instructed that the Economic Affairs Division and other relevant departments be invited to the next meeting to brief the committee on the steps being taken to ensure the project’s timely implementation.
The Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, chaired by Senator Quratulain Marri, met on Friday and took notice of delays in the M-6, M-10, and N-25 projects. The committee also reviewed compliance with its previous recommendations and assessed progress on key development initiatives. At the outset, the committee was briefed on the 22 recommendations issued earlier. The secretary, planning, development and special initiatives informed that several recommendations had been addressed, while the remaining were under consideration. The committee also sought compliance on the projects recommended by the members of the Senate; however, the ministry requested additional time to present the same. The chairperson also directed that relevant ministries be summoned in the next meeting to present compliance reports.
The committee was further apprised of the proposals shared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). The secretary informed that the IMF had sent a questionnaire covering multiple areas, of which Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and Public Investment Management (PIM) were directly relevant to the Planning Commission. The completed questionnaire was submitted to the IMF on March 20, 2025.
Briefing by the Ministry of Planning on the recommendations related to PSDP, it was informed by the official of the planning ministry that IMF stressed on limiting funding for new projects to 10 percent. Projects of national importance were given priority in the development budget for the current fiscal year, secretary planning said. Only two percent of funds were allocated for new projects in the new budget, he added. Similarly, he said that 344 projects worth Rs2,518 billion were completed or closed.
While discussing the IMF Diagnosis Report, it was revealed that lack of adequate prioritisation of projects, frequent delays, rising costs, and weak protection of funds for approved projects over their lifecycle were the major shortcomings identified by IMF. The chairperson emphasised that, in line with the committee’s previous recommendations, ongoing projects must be completed on priority before the initiation of new ones.
The National Highway Authority (NHA) gave a detailed briefing on the Sukkur–Hyderabad–Karachi Motorway (M-6) and the Karachi–Quetta–Chaman Road (N-25). Members were informed that the M-6 consists of five sections from Hyderabad to Sukkur. In the first phase, two sections Noushehroferoze–Ranipur and Ranipur–Sukkur are being prioritised, with board approval expected in September 2025. NHA officials briefed the committee on various development projects. It was told that ECNEC has approved the revised PC-1 of Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway (M-6) on August 7, and work on three sections of the project will start soon. The official said that Islamic Development Bank will provide funds for two sections— including section-4 from Noushehroferoze to Ranipur and section-5 from Ranipur to Sukkur. Similarly, the NHA official further said that useful talks are also underway with OPEC Fund and Saudi Development Fund in this regard. A mission of Saudi Development Fund will visit Pakistan in October, the official added. Two sections of the project- including Hyderabad to Tando Adam section-1 and Tando Adam to Nawabshah section- will be constructed under Public-Private Partnership, the official added.
While briefing on M-10 project, the official informed that initial cost estimate for New Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway M-10 is Rs254 billion. The detailed design and commercial feasibility of M-10 are likely to be completed by October, he added. This project will be included in the PSDP of the next fiscal year, the official disclosed and added that the six-lane M-10 project will be 168-km long and it will have 10 interchanges. The chairperson expressed serious concerns over NHA’s performance on the M-6 project and urged them to commence work without further delay. Referring to the committee’s previous proceedings, she noted that NHA had already consumed four months and was now seeking another four months for finalising decisions on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The ministry also briefed the committee on the Intelligent Project Automation System (iPAS), which is designed to streamline the development process. With integration across systems, iPAS aims to facilitate detailed budgeting and automate budget releases. The meeting was attended by senators Jam Saifullah Khan, Shahadat Awan, Atta ur Rehman, Saadia Abbasi and Mashal Azam.
