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A major infrastructure plan is in motion as the federal government prepares to expand the Karachi Northern Bypass into the M-10 Motorway, a 134-kilometre six-lane expressway passing through the Kirthar Range.
According to officials from the Ministry of Communications, the upgraded route will directly connect Karachi with the M-6 Motorway at Jamshoro, helping to divert heavy transport away from the city’s congested roads.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, during a meeting with Federal Communications Minister Aleem Khan at the CM House, called the M-10 project “a game changer for Karachi’s traffic bottlenecks,” while stressing that the M-6 Motorway would open new opportunities for youth in interior Sindh through improved connectivity.
Also present at the meeting were provincial ministers, senior bureaucrats, and officials of the National Highway Authority (NHA). They were briefed that the long-delayed M-6 Motorway project had been cleared under the Public Sector Development Programme with an estimated cost of Rs363 billion. The project will be executed in five phases, with partial funding secured from the Islamic Development Bank and potential investment interest shown by a Chinese firm.
Once complete, the M-6 will bridge the missing link in Pakistan’s north–south motorway corridor. It will ensure seamless travel from Peshawar to Karachi and boost trade and logistics by reducing travel time and enhancing port connectivity.
The M-10 plan itself has grown into a two-part initiative: widening the existing 34 km Karachi Northern Bypass into an eight-lane motorway, and building a brand-new 134 km six-lane stretch through the Kirthar Range to Jamshoro. An additional 23 km road from Hamdard University Chowk to the M-9 will also be upgraded, transforming the entire corridor from Karachi Port to Jamshoro into a high-speed motorway link.
Federal Minister Aleem Khan assured the Sindh government that the projects would be executed transparently and without delay, while CM Murad Ali Shah welcomed the federal partnership. Shah called both M-6 and M-10 vital for Sindh’s development and Pakistan’s economy at large.
