Karachi: The National Highway Authority (NHA) has revised the Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway (M6) budget to PKR 3.8 trillion, news sources reported on April 4. The funding has been revised from PKR 191 billion to the current figures for the second time since the project’s approval in September last year.
Reportedly, the NHA revised the Project Concept-1 (PC-1) during its meeting, citing changes in design and the inclusion of new sections. The budget was revised to include consultancy, hydraulic model study, feasibility study, commercial feasibility study and right of way. The project is being developed under the Public-Private Partnership (P3) model, where the government and private firms will share the cost of the total project. Of the total, the government of Pakistan will contribute a total of PKR 19.8 billion, while the private firms will pay the rest. The project is a 306-kilometre extended 6-lane access controlled toll road. It will be completed on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.
The project is anticipated to be completed in 30 months following financial closing, while the private firm will operate the project for 25 years. Under the arrangement, the government of Pakistan (GOP) is committed to providing a maximum of PKR 43 billion in capital and operational Viability Gap Funding (VGF) during the construction period, with operational VGF payments spread over the first seven operational years to support the project’s financial viability and bankability.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
