KARACHI: Expressing grave concern over the long delayed project of Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway, Pasban Democratic Party PDP Chairman Altaf Shakoor here Sunday demanded to complete this vital road project on fast track basis to facilitate the masses.
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He said this project known as M-6 Motorway, is an under-construction project. It will connect Sukkur to Hyderabad. The 306 km long M-6 motorway is the only missing vital link of North to South connectivity; i.e., from Karachi to Peshawar.
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Altaf Shakoor said when motorway projects have already been completed in Punjab and KpK, it is a discrimination with the people of Sindh to deprive them of this facility by delaying this project for years. He said earlier, the Superhighway road was facelifted to give the name of a motorway, while it is not a motorway in real sense and if compared to Sukkur-Multan or other motorways it is a third class road.
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Talking about the criticality of the motorways, he said they are designed for high-speed travel and connect cities and regions. He said motorways make it safer and more convenient to travel between cities and to tourist attractions. He said motorways are part of trade corridors that link important trade routes in a country. In our country, the motorways are part of the “National Trade Corridor Project” and the “China-Pakistan Belt Road Initiative”.
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Altaf Shakoor said when one enters Punjab from Sindh, he feels a sea change particularly in shape of motorways, highways and quality roads. He said people could reach from one part of Punjab to others within hours but this is not in case of Sindh, where majority of roads including Sukkur-Hyderabad national highway are in poor shape.
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He said it is heartening to know that the Sindh government has agreed to the federal government’s proposal to construct the M-6 Motorway on a separate track from Karachi, instead of initiating it from Hyderabad to Sukkur. He said work on the motorway to Sukkur if started from Hyderabad on the earlier route or directly from Karachi on newly proposed route should be started without further loss of time, as this vital project is already too delayed.
