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Azerbaijan has offered Pakistan a $1 billion cash deposit loan in response to a request for funding the $1.2 billion Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had sought financial support from the Azerbaijani government for two major infrastructure projects during his recent visit to Azerbaijan.
In response, Azerbaijan has proposed two funding options, as outlined by officials from Pakistan’s National Highway Authority (NHA). One option involves the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan making a term cash deposit with the State Bank of Pakistan. The federal government could then lend these funds to the NHA for the construction of the motorways. The second option is for Azerbaijan to partner with the Islamic Development Bank to directly finance the Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway, which is considered a crucial link in the south-north national motorway network.
The estimated cost for the Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway is $1.2 billion, and the Pakistani government has recently hired the American consultancy firm AT Kearney to prepare its feasibility study. Alongside the Sukkur-Hyderabad project, Pakistan has also proposed that Azerbaijan finance the new Hyderabad-Karachi motorway (M-9), which will be built on a new route.
The estimated cost of the Hyderabad-Karachi motorway is $600 million, excluding land acquisition costs, according to NHA officials.
