NHA Focussing On BOT Projects To Involve Private Sector In Road

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Augst,2016) : National Highway Authority (NHA) has been focusing on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects to involve private sector in highway building projects. An official of NHA told APP that the present government wants to upgraded road infrastructure in the next five to seven years. This goal can only be achieved with the support of private sector, whereas budget allocations alone can meet about 50 pc the set targeted demands, he said.

The rest has to come from the Public- Private-Partnership (PPP) projects, said the NHA official. He said public private partnership is becoming an essential component of NHA development strategy. He said the recent achievements of the NHA PPP projects include renovation of 357 km Lahore-Islamabad Motorway (M- 2),Habibabad flyover near Pattoki on Peshawer-Karachi Highway (N-5), under construction Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9).

The NHA official said PPP projects are at procurement stage which include improvement and widening of N-5 from M-2/N-5 junction to Taxila underpass. He said 20 km section widening would also include 6-lane flyover at Tarnol railway crossing. He said 53 km Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad Motorway (M-3) would be converted into six-lane motorway on BOT basis in near future. He said the 95 km Sialkot-Lahore Motorway will also be a landmark project built with collaboration of private sector. The NHA official said other NHA's PPP projects include 296 km Hyderabad-Sukker section of Karachi-Lahore Motorway (KLM),35 km Tarnol-Fateh Jang section of Islamabad-Kohat Highway (N-80) to be converted into four-lane divided highway. Conversion of Nowshehra-Peshawer section of N-5 into 6-lane divided expressway and two service areas on Kabul river on Peshawar- Islamabad Motorway (M-1) will also constructed under BOT.