M-6 Hyderabad to Sukkur motorway starts in November: Rs 359bn, 306km, 5 sections

Construction on the Hyderabad to Sukkur motorway, M-6, is scheduled to begin in November 2026. The National Highway Authority gave the date to the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Division on Tuesday.

This is the missing link in the north-south motorway spine. With M-6 built, motorway runs from Karachi to Peshawar without a break onto the National Highway.

The numbers

NHA Member Planning and Design Dr Shafique told the committee the 306 kilometre road is split into five sections at an estimated overall cost of Rs 359 billion. The revised PC-I of Rs 364 billion has already been approved by ECNEC.

Sections I and II are to be built under the Public-Private Partnership model. The other three are financed by lenders.

Who is paying

The Islamic Development Bank has signed a $475 million loan agreement covering Sections IV and V. The OPEC Fund board has approved $230 million for Section III. The Asian Development Bank has signed on to provide transaction advisory services for Sections I and II under the PPP model.

Land acquisition for the main corridor is complete, which is usually where Pakistani motorway projects stall for years.

Where the paperwork actually stands

Procurement on the three internationally financed sections is at different stages. Bids for Section III, the OPEC Fund section, were received on 2 September 2026 and are under evaluation, with contract acceptance expected in November. Bidding documents for Sections IV and V have been issued.

That sequencing matters for the November start date. What begins in November is realistically the OPEC-funded Nawabshah to Naushehro Feroz stretch, with the rest following as contracts close. A single ribbon-cutting is not the same thing as 306 kilometres under construction.

What it changes for a driver

Today the Hyderabad to Sukkur run is on the N-5, the old National Highway, through town after town with mixed traffic. It is the single worst stretch of the Karachi to Lahore drive for both time and accident rate.

A motorway on that corridor cuts the Karachi to Sukkur leg substantially and takes heavy freight off the N-5 through Sindh's interior towns. For a freight operator it is the difference between two driver shifts and one on the Karachi to Multan run.

It will also be tolled, and PPP sections in Pakistan have tended to price at the higher end. Budget for a toll bill on a road that is free today.

Working out your own fuel bill

At Rs 393.75 a litre for petrol and Rs 422.08 for diesel, the Karachi to Sukkur leg is the expensive part of the drive whichever road you take. Our fuel cost calculator gives the rupee figure for a given distance and mileage, and the fuel average calculator works out what your vehicle is actually returning per litre before you plan the trip.