Key Takeaways
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting on National Highway Authority (NHA) projects.
- Projects include upgrades, new roads, and interchanges across different parts of the country.
- Revenue from NHA increased from Rs. 109 billion to Rs. 130 billion during the last fiscal year.
Pakistan is set to complete 16 major road and highway projects, including upgrades, new roads, and interchanges, according to a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The projects, which are nearing completion, include the upgrade of the GT Road from Tee Chowk Islamabad to Banth, the remodelling of the Islamabad Chungi No. 26 Interchange, and the extension of Margalla Avenue from GT Road to Motorway M-1.
Other projects include the upgrade of the Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad section of M-4, Quetta Western Bypass, Pindi Gheb-Jand Road, and Bhong Interchange on the Multan-Sukkur Motorway M-5.
The meeting also informed that NHA revenue increased from Rs. 109 billion to Rs. 130 billion during the last fiscal year, with expectations to reach Rs. 160 billion during the current fiscal year.
Several major projects are being funded through NHA’s own revenue, including the Sialkot-Kharian Motorway M-12, Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway M-13, Peshawar Northern Bypass, reconstruction of the Jaglot-Skardu Road, M-4 upgrade, and Multan-Lodhran N-5 upgrade.
Prime Minister Shehbaz directed that all ongoing NHA projects undergo third-party audits and called for a strategy to develop national highways, motorways, and expressways through public-private partnerships.
Several projects are set to be launched soon, including the Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway M-13, Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway M-6, and rehabilitation and reconstruction projects on different sections of GT Road and N-5.
The government is also considering the Guru Nanak Expressway to connect Kartarpur with Nankana Sahib and the Mansehra-Chilas Expressway through Naran, which could reduce the distance between the two cities by 146 kilometers.
