KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed officials to complete transfer of all state and private land required for M6 Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway project by Aug 7 and stressed no more delays would be tolerated.

The chief minister said at a meeting held at Chief Minister House here on Thursday to review progress and challenges to M6 project that litigation had caused delays in the project, said a press statement.

Mr Shah focused on resolving the land acquisition issues and accelerating construction efforts so that work could commence in the upcoming fiscal year.

He emphasised the urgency of resolving all pending matters, including land acquisition, and directed that all land transfers for the motorway must be completed by Aug 7. According to the briefing by Chief Secretary, a total of 7,226.32.32 acres were required for the motorway section from Jamshoro to Sukkur, of which 884.04 acres belonged to the Sindh government, while 66,342.28.28 acres were privately owned.

The chief minister announced that his government had allocated Rs4.5 billion for bridge financing, while the National Highway Authority (NHA) would provide Rs6.27bn for the project.

He directed Hyderabad commissioner to submit report on the acquisition of 342.15 acres of private and government land and ensure that 11,641.38.38 acres in Matiari were acquired within two days.

Mr Shah instructed the acquisition of 11,390.01.01 acres in Shaheed Benazirabad, 11,471.18.18 acres in Naushahro Feroze, 1,802.1 acres in Khairpur and 26.36 acres in Sukkur by Aug 7 deadline.

He expressed his determination to initiate work on the M6 motorway promptly in the new fiscal year, underscoring the project’ s importance for regional connectivity and economic development in the province.

The NHA chairman assured the chief minister that he would complete the entire tendering process and award the work by February 2026, allowing physical work to commence by March 2026.

The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Asif Haider Shah, SMBR Baqaiullah Anar, Principal Secretary to CM Agha Wasif, Hyderabad Commissioner Bilawal Memon, Secretary Finance Fayaz Jatoi, and (via video link) commissioners of Sukkur and Shaheed Benazirabad, chairman NHA and other regional commissioners.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2025