The federal government is weighing private investment in four major highway projects, to be developed through public-private partnerships (PPPs). The aim is to bring outside capital into road building and reduce the National Highway Authority's (NHA) reliance on federal funding. Officials met in Islamabad to test whether the schemes are financially sound and commercially attractive.
The meeting was co-chaired by Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan and the Prime Minister's Adviser on Privatisation, Muhammad Ali. Representatives of the NHA, the Privatisation Commission and the Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A) took part. The participants examined whether each scheme could pay its way and draw commercial interest.
Projects on the table
The list covers 169 kilometres of the M-10 Motorway and a planned motorway that would join Chilas, Naran, Mansehra and Jhal Khand, with a proposed link toward the Chinese border. Also discussed was the Guru Nanak Expressway, which the minister linked to faith-based travel for Sikhs. The fourth item is an extension of the Murree Expressway into AJK (Azad Jammu and Kashmir), intended to help tourism and trade.
Next steps for the NHA
Aleem Khan asked NHA officials to draft business plans and single out projects that suit private investors. He pointed to the Sialkot-Kharian Motorway (M-12), already being built under a PPP, as the template the government wants to follow. Muhammad Ali said the Privatisation Commission and P3A would back the assessment of the proposals.
Officials agreed to finish preliminary technical work and reconvene within a week to go over their findings. The projects are still at an early stage, and that review is the next checkpoint.
Why the government wants this
The minister said he wants to turn the NHA into a financially self-sustaining body, valued between Rs500 billion and Rs1 trillion, so that it leans less on the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). PSDP is the federal budget line used for development schemes, including roads. Road projects in Pakistan are being looked at through this partnership model as a way to share the cost of building and running new routes.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Hukumat chaar bari sarak pariyojanaon mein nijee sarmaya lagane par ghaur kar rahi hai. Iska maqsad NHA ko sarkari fund par kam inhisaar wala idara banana hai. Abhi yeh sirf ibtidaai tajveez hain, is liye safar ya kisi kharche mein foran koi tabdeeli nahi aayi. Agle hafte ke jaiza ijlas ke baad aage ki tafseel saamne aayegi.
