Karachi:
The Sindh government has expressed solid reservations about what it calls negligence by the federal government of the main development projects in the province, in particular the Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway, in the federal budget of 17.6 rumors of rupees for exercise 2025-26.
The Higher Minister of Sindh, Sharjeel Inam Memon, said that the Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway was not only critical for the Sindh, but for the whole country because of its central role in national trade routes.
“The port of Karachi manages imports and exports for all of Pakistan. There is no viable alternative route to this highway,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Memon, who is also the provincial information minister, noted that the Sindh -chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, had repeatedly recalled the federal government of the importance of the project and even published formal letters.
He said federal ministers had recently assured the provincial government that funds would be allocated in the budget. However, Memon criticized the allowance as insufficient.
“The construction of the Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway is the responsibility of the federal government, not the Sindh government,” he said. “We were told that the road would start soon and would be finished quickly, but with the amount of the allocated token, this project can neither start quickly nor finish in time.”
Calling “symbolic money” funding, Memon said that large -scale projects require substantial and supported funding over two to three years. He argued that at least 30 to 40% of the total cost should have been allocated, as is the case with other national projects.
“By allocating only 15 billion rupees, no justice was done to the project or national interests,” he said. He also expressed his concerns concerning the underfunding of the K-IV water supply project, describing the allowances for the two initiatives as “very inadequate”.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), he said, takes these budgetary decisions seriously and plans to review the budget in detail. Memon noted that the PPP had submitted official proposals to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and urged the federal government to reduce unnecessary spending.
“When income does not increase, it becomes essential to control expenses,” he said. “The budgetary objectives set the last time have not been achieved. The FBR has not achieved its income targets. ”
He warned that the government will only adopt a more intelligent approach to spending and reins in financial mismanagement, the economic system would remain under pressure and the fiscal policy would not be sustainable.
