M-6 Motorway Delay Puts November 2026 Start in Doubt

This report is based on a source report.

A parliamentary committee has again pressed for a clear schedule for the delayed Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway, better known as M-6, after being told that litigation and pending approvals are still slowing the project. According to source reports from https://www.app.com.pk/national/na-body-voices-concern-over-m-6-delays-seeks-detailed-briefing and https://www.dawn.com/news/2027045/delay-in-highways-construction-irks-na-panel, lawmakers asked the National Highway Authority and the relevant federal minister to return with a section-wise briefing. For background, read our earlier coverage: Pakistan New Motorway Link: Lahore-Sialkot to Islamabad Via Kharian Cuts 100km Travel.

The latest update matters because November 2026 is only the most recent construction target, not a confirmed completion date or a guarantee that the full corridor will open by then.

What the M-6 project is meant to be

M-6 is planned as a six-lane controlled-access motorway between Sukkur and Hyderabad in Sindh. The corridor is about 306 kilometres long and is estimated to cost around Rs359 billion, according to the reports. The project has been split into five sections so it can be handled in phases.

The section plan is:

According to source reports, the Hyderabad-side sections are planned under a public-private partnership model, while the remaining sections are being pursued through international financing arrangements.

Why the project is still stuck

The committee was told that recent litigation has affected implementation. It was also informed that approvals for the Hyderabad-side sections are still pending. Groundwork is expected to begin from the Sukkur side, but that does not mean machinery is already on site or that full construction has started.

This is not the first missed timeline. Source reports say an earlier target of May 2026 was not met. They also say a PPP agreement signed in December 2022 was terminated in 2023 after the concessionaire did not reach financial close in time. After that, the project was reworked into five packages to make financing and execution easier.

For readers, that means the road remains on paper as a major north-south link, but the timeline is still uncertain.

Why drivers and freight operators should care

M-6 is expected to connect the M-5 Multan-Sukkur Motorway to Karachi-facing motorway links once it is built. Until then, long-distance traffic between Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and central or northern Pakistan still depends heavily on the N-5.

That is the practical impact for everyday travellers and transport firms: no one should assume near-term relief on the current highway network yet. Freight operators should avoid planning around M-6 travel-time savings until official section-wise progress and opening dates are confirmed.

Families and businesses making long-range travel plans should also treat November 2026 as a target, not a deadline.

What happens next

According to the reports, committee members want the NHA chairman and the relevant federal minister to appear again with a detailed update. The next key signals to watch are:

• approval of the Hyderabad-side PPP sections,

• progress on the litigation issue,

• section-wise financing and procurement schedules,

• and visible site activity from the Sukkur end.

For now, the message from Parliament is simple: M-6 remains important, but it is still not ready to move from repeated announcements to real construction. For more background on the earlier target, see Hyderabad-Sukkur M-6 Construction to Start November 2026.

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