ISLAMABAD, June 19: President Pervez Musharraf has directed the National Highways Authority to ensure timely completion of major road projects while maintaining stringent quality standards.

Speaking at a meeting of the Ministry of Communication held here on Tuesday to review the pace of road projects and the future plans, the president directed the authority to complete the Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway (M-1) by October this year. He directed the Ministry of Finance to release necessary funds.

He said the NHA must ensure completion on time to check cost escalation.

The president took note of the poor construction of the 68-kilometre Nowshera-Pabbi section and 48-kilometre Nooriabad-Hyderabad section and directed to initiate necessary action against the responsible for negligence.

He said that the quality of work must be ensured in future projects and warned that negligence would not be tolerated as far as the standard of the construction work was concerned.

Underscoring the need for involving the private sector in future projects on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, President Musharraf said it would lessen the burden on the public sector.