ISLAMABAD: The Minister for Privatisation, Investment and Com­munications, Abdul Aleem Khan, has hinted at the construction of Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway and Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway under the Public-Private Partner­ship (PPP) mode.

“There is no doubt that many highway construction projects are of great interest to private investment for which the National Highway Autho­rity must definitely put its efforts into action at the relevant forum,” Mr Khan said while chairing a meeting of NHA in Islamabad on Wednesday.

He further said that the Mansehra-Kaghan-Naran Road will be constructed on the Motorway model as the highway projects in upper areas of the country are also attractive for the private sector.

Mr Khan said that increasing the revenue of the National Highway Authority can reduce the burden on the national exchequer and, therefore, the NHA should increase its revenue by participating in construction projects in foreign countries, and legal procedures should be adopted for construction activities abroad by NHA.

The role of NHA in economic and business activities and foreign investment was especially discussed during the meeting which reviewed the performance of the authority besides ongoing and proposed projects. Further improvement of the road network across the country can significantly boost economic and business activities as the road networks play the role of the backbone in economy and progress of any country of the world, including Pakistan, he observed.

The NHA chairman and other senior officers presented a detailed briefing to the minister on the performance of NHA, and informed him about the progress made so far in generation of revenue.

“We will have to give special attention to the construction and improvement of highways of economic and commercial importance as a priority,” Mr Khan said.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2024