Traffic congestion in Karachi may ease in the coming years as the 57-kilometre Northern Bypass is set to be expanded into a six-lane 134-kilometre M-10 Motorway.
According to the plan shared by Communications Ministry officials, the new motorway will connect Karachi directly to the M-6 Motorway at Jamshoro, passing through the Kirthar Mountain Range, The News reported.
The project is aimed at diverting heavy goods transport away from the city’s main arteries, reducing pressure on urban traffic flow.
“Both the Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway (M-6) and Karachi Northern Bypass–Jamshoro Motorway (M-10) projects are vital not only for Sindh but also for the entire country’s economy,” said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah while talking to Federal Communications Minister Aleem Khan, who called on him at the CM House to review progress on the two major infrastructure projects.
“M-6 would unlock opportunities for the youth of interior Sindh through enhanced connectivity, while M-10 would resolve Karachi’s traffic bottlenecks once and for all,” the CM said.
The meeting was also attended by provincial ministers Sharjeel Inam Memon, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Haji Ali Hassan Zardari, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Planning & Development Board Chairman Najam Shah and Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh along with Federal Secretary of Communications Ali Sher and National Highway Authority (NHA) Chairman Sahibzada Shahryar Sultan.
The CM and federal communication minister were informed by the federal communication secretary that the last missing North–South Motorway link on M-6 had received the final approval under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). The project had been approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for Rs363 billion.
The NHA would implement the project in five phases. The Islamic Development Bank had committed to funding two sections, while a Chinese company had expressed interest in undertaking all five sections, it was disclosed.
Highlighting its significance, officials said that M-6 would complete Pakistan’s north–south motorway backbone, linking Peshawar to Karachi. It was expected to enhance trade, logistics and regional development by reducing travel time, improving safety and facilitating port-to-upcountry connectivity.
The meeting also discussed the M-10 project, which evolved from a simple bypass upgrade into a two-segment mega initiative. The two segments include upgrading the Karachi Northern Bypass (34km) from the ICI Bridge to the Hamdard University Chowk by converting it into an eight-lane motorway and a new 134 km motorway through the Kirthar Range, which would be a six-lane motorway linking the Hamdard University Chowk to the M-6 at Jamshoro.
Additionally, a 23km stretch from Hamdard University Chowk to the M-9 will be upgraded to a six-lane road. This would transform the entire route from the Karachi Port to M-6 in Jamshoro into a high-capacity motorway, the meeting was told.
Currently, M-10 is under a feasibility study being carried out by NESPAK. The project’s core objective was to de-congest Karachi by creating a direct high-speed link between the port and the national motorway network, bypassing the city traffic, said the federal minister.
The CM welcomed the federal government’s support and said both projects were vital for the entire country. Khan assured the CM that the federal communications ministry and NHA were fully committed to completing both projects in a timely and transparent manner.
Murad said the M-6 Motorway from Hyderabad to Sukkur had been neglected for a long time, but he was grateful now as the federal government had the project. The federal minister said the NHA would construct the Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway.
The M-6 Motorway has been divided into 4 sections. They include the sections from Naushahro Feroze to Ranipur, from Ranipur to Sukkur, from Hyderabad to Tando Adam and from Tando Adam to Nawabshah. The CM said work on M-6 should be started soon to facilitate public and port traffic.
