US$1.76 billion Pakistan highway

Spiralling costs mean a Pakistan highway could cost US$1.76 billion.

Road Structures / August 21, 2024 40 seconds Read

By MJ Woof

The cost of the road linking Sukkur and Hyderabad in Pakistan has climbed considerably – image courtesy of © Aleksandar Pavlovic| Dreamstime.com

The cost of the road linking Sukkur and Hyderabad in Pakistan has climbed considerably – image courtesy of © Aleksandar Pavlovic| Dreamstime.com

There are concerns in Pakistan over the spiralling cost of the M6 motorway project to link Hyderabad and Sukkur. Back in 2018 the project was expected to cost US$617.3 million, which then climbed to $1.09 billion in 2022 and now comes with a projected pricetag of $1.76 billion.

The 306km motorway project will be carried out under the PPP model and will provide a key link for north and south Pakistan. There have been suggestions from officials in Pakistan that the project should have been part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). But the Chinese authorities did not give assent to this proposal.

Questions have been asked as to how the cost of the project has almost tripled, given that its design has not. The road is planned to have three lanes in either direction and a design speed of 120km/h, with 15 major interchanges and 89 bridges.