NHA, Privatization Commission explore PPP route for major motorway projects

MG News October 22, 2026 (MLN): The Government is looking at the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for four major road infrastructure projects, as Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan said he wants to turn the National Highway Authority (NHA) into a financially self-reliant entity worth Rs 500bn to Rs 1tr, reducing its dependence on federal PSDP funding. The proposals under review include a 169-kilometre section of the M-10 Motorway, the Mansehra–Naran–Jhal Khand–Chilas Motorway linking to the Chinese border, the Guru Nanak Expressway, and an extension of the Murree Expressway up to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), according to a press release issued. The matter came up at a consultative meeting in Islamabad between the NHA, the Privatization Commission and its Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A), co-chaired by Aleem Khan and Advisor to the Prime Minister on Privatization Muhammad Ali. Participants reviewed the financial feasibility and commercial prospects of the highway networks for private sector involvement. Aleem Khan said the Guru Nanak Expressway could support religious tourism for the Sikh community, while taking the Murree Expressway to AJK could lift tourism and trade in the region. He directed NHA officials to draw up a formal business plan and bring forward market-ready projects, pointing to the Sialkot–Kharian Motorway (M-12), now being built under a PPP arrangement, as a working example, and said rising NHA revenues show the authority is moving towards financial autonomy. Muhammad Ali assured the Privatization Commission and P3A would fully support and facilitate the evaluation of the projects. Both sides agreed to complete preliminary technical work and meet again in a week to review the findings. The Federal Secretary for Communications, Chairman NHA, Corporate Head of the Privatization Commission and senior P3A representatives also attended. Copyright Mettis Link News