PM allays Sindh's concerns over motorway project
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday conveyed to Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah that the construction of the Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway was still a priority of his government, and assured that the project would soon be included in the PSDP.
The PM penned a letter to the chief minister over the project, known as M-6. Shehbaz informed CM Shah that Sindh's reservations on the issue were justified and that the construction work on the project would be initiated soon.
A controversy erupted on the M-6 project recently, as Sindh's Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani raised objection during a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) to the approval of the Lahore-Sahiwal-Bahawalnagar Motorway.
Talking to The Express Tribune, last week, Ghani had said that he raised objection to the construction of the new motorway at a 65% higher cost of Rs436 billion because work on the 306 kilometres Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway could not start because of the lack of funding.
Before the Ecnec meeting, National Highway Authority (NHA) Chairman Sheheryar Sultan had told the Senate Standing Committee on Planning that the government was in discussions with various creditors for financing the M-6 project.
In January, Chief Minister Shah had written a letter to the prime minister, emphasising that constructing the Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway was crucial for the nation's development. He accused the NHA of injustice in the ADP for the province.
According to the letter from the PM said that he was personally interested in the construction of the motorway and wanted the project completed in the public-private mode but his efforts could not bear fruit.
PM said that Sindh's reservations were valid, and the construction of the motorway would start soon. The motorway will be made part of the PSDP soon, the PM assured the chief minister.
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