PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network
Pakistan's Longest Motorway M5 to Boost Road Transport Sector
Recent opening of M5, Pakistan's longest access-controlled motorway, is a boost for the nation's fast-growing road transport sector. The 6-lane 392 kilometers long M5 motorway is longer than than the 375 kilometers long 6-lane M2 motorway. After M5 opening, the only missing section in planned 1,694 kilometer long 6-lane Peshawar-Karachi motorway is 296-kilometer Sukkur-Hyderabad M6 motorway. Growing network of high-speed motorways is opening up less developed parts of the country for investment, business and tourism. It is aiding agriculture, trade and commerce by moving freight and people faster. Transport sector is part of the service sector which constitutes 54% of the national economy. Service sector includes education, health, financial services, legal services, communication services, hotels, restaurants, recreation, entertainment, retail and wholesale, personal services, etc. It is growing faster than industry (26%) and agriculture (20%) sectors.
Here's a brief overview of Pakistan's road transport sector as summarized by Karandaz research:
1. The Transport, Logistics and Communications (TLC) sector is estimated to have contributed 13.3% of GDP in 2016-17. Of this, more than 62% was contributed by the road transport sector. In 2014-15 the sector employed 3.1 million people.
2. Most traffic intensive routes are a) Karachi to Peshawar via Hyderabad-Multan-Faisalabad-Rawalpindi; b) Sukkur to Quetta; c) Karachi to Quetta via the RCD Highway; and d) N-5 National Highway segment of Multan-Lahore-Gujranwala-Rawalpindi.
3. Passengers and freight are the primary segments of road transport sector. The fastest growing freight segment is the delivery vans at 7.5% annually, while for the passenger segment it is motor cabs and taxis at 5.9% annually.
4. Road transport grew at an average rate of 6.2% annually between 1991 and 2016, faster than the average GDP growth rate 4.4% during this period. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is expected to accelerate transport sect or growth with construction of roads and other transport infrastructure.
5. Freight transport sector is highly lucrative with profit margins ranging from 21% for large trucks to 43% for rickshaws. Passenger transport sector is even more lucrative with 30% profit margin for wagons to 50% for luxury buses.
Here's a video of Uch Sharif service area on M5 Sukkur-Musltan Motorway:
https://youtu.be/NC6J8YRAJS4
Riaz Haq
Karachi to Sukkur motorway construction to commence in 2025
https://arynews.tv/karachi-to-sukkur-motorway-construction-to-comme...
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Communications, Aleem Khan, on Wednesday has announced that the construction of the Karachi-Sukkur Motorway will commence in 2025, ARY News reported.
Addressing a meeting in Islamabad, Aleem Khan said that the motorway will connect Karachi Port to Sukkur, providing a vital link between the country’s north and south.
According to Khan, the motorway’s construction will be undertaken through a public-private partnership, with the government inviting the Sindh government to participate in the project. If a partnership is not established, the federal government will bear the costs of the project.
He said that once completed, the Karachi-Sukkur Motorway is expected to generate a revenue of Rs. 3,000 billion over the next 25 years.
Earlier, the Sindh government and Centre agreed to construct the M6 Motorway on a separate track from Karachi to Sukkur, instead of initiating it from Hyderabad to Sukkur.
They also agreed to explore the possibility of building the motorway through a public-private partnership (PPP) or through a consortium to be formed by the Sindh and federal governments.
Jan 13, 2025
Riaz Haq
NHA Anticipates 50,000 Vehicles’ Diversion From Two Highways To M-6
https://thefridaytimes.com/04-Mar-2025/nha-anticipates-50-000-vehic...
NHA anticipates 50,000+ vehicles daily shifting to M-6 Motorway from N-5, N-55. Govt explores funding from global investors to complete the 306 km project
---
The M-6, also called Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway is a proposed 306 Km long 6-lane road with approved PC-I cost of Rs 400 billion.
Two major highways are linked with said planned route that are N-5 and N-55. The N-5 is an 1819 km national highway which extends from Karachi in Sindh to Torkham in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also serves as an important north-south road artery, starting from K arachi and extending through Hyderabad, Moro and Sukkur in Sindh. Likewise, N-55 also known as Indus Highway is a 1264 km long national highway that runs along the Indus River in Pakistan, connects Karachi with the northwestern city of Peshawar via Dera Ghazi Khan.
The N-5 and N-55 are on six local routes including Hyderabad to Tand Adam, Tando Adam to Hala, Hala to Nawabshah, Nawabshah to Patidan, Paitadan to Ranipur, Ranipur to Rohri Sukkur.
The road from Hyderabad to Tando Adam carries the highest volume of traffic while around 42,000 vehicles of this route are estimated to be run on said motorway via N-5 and N-55.
Overall traffic count of N-5 from Hyderabad to Rohri is 138,323 vehicles daily. The segments that are part of Sindh in these national highways are Hyderabad to Hala, Hala to Sakrand, Sakrand to Qazi Ahmed, Qazi Ahmed to Moro, Moro to Ranipur, Ranipur to Tando Masti, Tando Masti to Rohri.
Similarly, a total of 77,843 vehicles ply on N-55 from Kotri to Shikarpur. It has 8 major sections included as Kotri To pataro, Pataro to Amri, Amir More to Sehwan, Sehwan to Dadu, Dadu to Mehar Mehar to Larkana, Larkana to Ratodero and Ratodero to Shikarpur.
The M-6 project was awarded to a consortium M/s Techno-CMC-ACC a couple of years back. However, despite being given an extended period to the company, it could not show financial close. Subsequently, the contract was cancelled after fulfillments of all coddle formalities by the authorities concerned. According to a senior official at the road authority, the contractor requested revising rates as dollar rate spiked rapidly in a given period. The authority could not consider the request as it was already facing funds' discrepancies.
According to the documents, after cancellation of the awarded contract, the NHA has conducted revised cost estimation. It also has tried to explore different possibilities of implementation of this project under prevalent economic discrepancies. The authority also conducted in-house financial re-modeling for various scenarios in order to exercise this mega development project. Additionally, the project was discussed in a joint working group on communications meeting in September last year.
Moreover, the government also has approached Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Islamic Development Bank and World Bank for possible investment.
As per detailed study to break down the project by NESPAK, the M-6 motorway project is classified into five sections.
Section one is 57 km long Hyderabad-Tando Adam having estimated cost of Rs 89 billion, the 63.5 km and 64.5 km long Tando Adam-Nawabshah and Nawabshah-Naushero Feroz sections are set to cost Rs 80 billion each. Naushero Feroz-Ranipur section is 60 km long while it would cost Rs 76 billion while Ranipur–Sukkur last section of this proposed 59.6 km long road having estimated cost of Rs 75 billion. All said amounts are estimated in BOT/PPP modes.
According to the NHA, M-6 is the only missing link in Peshawar-Karachi Motorway which has a total length 1,522 km.
Mar 6, 2025
Riaz Haq
Pakistan signs $603.4 million agreements with Islamic Development Bank to enhance infrastructure, poverty alleviation, and education
https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2026/01/20/pakistan-signs-603-4...
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has secured three significant agreements totalling $603.4 million with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to support key development projects across infrastructure, poverty alleviation, and education sectors. The agreements were finalised during a meeting between IsDB Vice President of Operations, Dr Rami Ahmad, and Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Ahad Khan Cheema.
The projects funded by these agreements include:
$118.4 million allocated for the Poverty Graduation Project, which will help 68,500 households by creating jobs and developing human capital.
$475 million for the M6 Motorway Project, a crucial 120.8 km stretch of the Peshawar-Karachi Motorway that will fill a key gap in the North-South corridor.
$10 million for the Out-Of-School Children in AJ&K Project, which will provide non-formal education to 60,000 children, upgrade 135 schools, establish 250 learning centers, train 4,000 teachers, and create climate-resilient facilities.
In a related development, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema and IsDB Governor for Pakistan met with Dr. Rami Ahmad in Islamabad, where the IsDB Vice President praised the strong cooperation between the two parties.
During the meeting, Minister Cheema commended IsDB for its continued support of Pakistan’s development, particularly through the $600 million financing for these priority projects. He emphasised the importance of the M6 Motorway Development Project as a flagship initiative and expressed hope for continued IsDB support for future priority projects.
The meeting also included Muhammad Humair Karim, Secretary of the Economic Affairs Division, and Sajid Manzoor Asadi, Joint Secretary (IsDB Alternate Governor).
Dr. Ahmad briefed the Minister on the successful completion of the IsDB Country Engagement Framework (CEF) 2023–2025, with over $956 million in financing from the bank, surpassing its target.
Looking forward, both sides discussed preparations for a new Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS) for 2026–2030, which will align with Pakistan’s Uraan Pakistan Economic Transformation Plan (2024–2029). This MCPS will allow for comprehensive engagement between the Government of Pakistan and the entire IsDB Group to further support the country’s development goals.
3 hours ago