PM Shehbaz orders third-party audit of all ongoing projects of National Highway Authority

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to Profit by Pakistan Today, directed that every National Highway Authority (NHA) project still underway be reviewed by an outside auditor on Tuesday. He also asked officials to draft a strategy for highways, motorways and expressways built through public-private partnerships. Chairing an NHA meeting, he said better road links were central to economic activity and pushed for more focus on remote areas.

The meeting heard that NHA revenue rose to Rs130 billion last financial year from Rs109 billion, and is projected to hit Rs160 billion this year. The authority is financing several schemes from its own income, including the Sialkot-Kharian Motorway (M-12), Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway (M-13), the Peshawar Northern Bypass and the Jaglot-Skardu Road (S-1) reconstruction. Officials said 16 projects were in their final stages, while work on several others is expected to start soon.

Officials said the Sialkot-Kharian and Kharian-Rawalpindi motorways are being built under public-private partnership arrangements. The meeting also discussed a proposed Guru Nanak Expressway linking Kartarpur and Nankana Sahib, along with a Mansehra-Chilas Expressway via Naran, which officials said could cut the distance between those cities by 146 kilometres.