Staff Reporter
Islamabad
National Highway Authority (NHA) during the past one year successfully attracted private sector investment and has awarded projects worth over Rs 144 billion, which is more than the average annual Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan. Besides other benefits, the expected revenue earnings from these projects would be over Rs 391 billion, an official of NHA told APP on Sunday.
He said the modern concept of infrastructure development, Public Private Partnership (PPP) had become a popular mode of road construction also known as Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model in which the private sector builds a project and operate a facility for an agreed period of time ranging from 20 to 30 years.
The private party which bears the responsibility of design, construction, operation and maintenance of the project and in return the party is authorized to receive toll/other revenue for a certain period.
Islamabad-Lahore Motorway was one of major PPP projects which was handed over to a concessionaire for a 20 years period in 2014 and scope of the project overlay and modernization of 357 km M-2).
Habibabad Bridge on Grand Trunk Road (N-5) in Okara was the other project completed on BOT basis. About 136 km Super Highway was another major NHA project converted to Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway on BOT basis. Recently opened for traffic 91 Sialkot-Lahore Motorway was also built on the BOT model.