Latest news with #NationalHighwayAuthority
Express Tribune
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Work on M-6 to start by Mar 2026
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Communications has been informed that the Quetta-Zhob road, including Zhob Bypass, has been included in this year's PSDP. However, due to limited funds, the Loralai bypass will be considered for inclusion in the next PSDP, in response to the Committee's previous recommendations. The committee, which met under the Chairmanship of MNA Aijaz Hussain, took up calling attention notice raised by MNA Syed Waseem Hussain and other members. The committee reiterated public concerns about high tolls being charged at several points on the Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9), emphasising the necessity for fair tolling and transparent revenue collection. Since the Parliamentary Secretary for Communications was unavailable to attend, the ministry was asked to submit its response at the next meeting. Furthermore, the committee asked a detailed report from the National Highway Authority (NHA) for the upcoming session. The Committee was briefed on the progress of the Sukkur-Hyderabad (M-6) motorway. The ministry informed the committee that the project would be financed through the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), following the approval of the project proposal by the P3A Board and the revised PC-1 by ECNEC.
Business Recorder
26-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Motorways in Sindh top priority of federal govt: Aleem
KARACHI: Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan has said that the construction of motorways in Sindh is a top priority of the government, and the M-6 and M-10 motorways will be launched simultaneously, as the M-6 is Pakistan's lifeline, which was unfortunately neglected by previous governments. Talking to the media along with Arif Habib chairman Arif Habib Group here on Monday, he said that a motorway will be incomplete in its utility without being connected to the Ports and both the M-6 and M-10 will be linked to the Karachi Port to ensure their full functionality. Highlighting the significance of the M-6 Project, the minister informed that it is a nearly Rs 400 billion initiative comprising upon five sections, each approximately kilometres long. 'There is no better opportunity for investment than in this project,' he pointed out. Aleem Khan said that financing has already been secured for two sections while discussions for the remaining three are ongoing. 'We will finalise the feasibility report and present it to the Prime Minister within the next 15 days,' he added. The federal minister further said that the motorways from Karachi to Hyderabad and from Hyderabad to Sukkur will be completed as early as possible while work on the N-25 Highway from Karachi to Quetta is also scheduled to begin later this year. 'Karachi's challenges are not just provincial, they are national issues and we will address them on a priority,' he emphasized. Replying to the questions, Khan stressed that his focus is on delivering progress rather than engaging in blame games. 'My effort is to prioritise the launch of motorway projects in Sindh; similarly, we are committed to completing the Kaghan-Naran motorway,' he said. He informed that the National Highway Authority (NHA) has recorded unprecedented growth in revenue over the current fiscal year and attaining the target from Rs 64 billion to Rs 110 billion while this additional income will be utilised into improving road infrastructure and constructing new motorways. To ensure road safety, he said that strict measures are being implemented against dangerous driving on motorways. 'Drivers exceeding 150 km/h are not only being fined but also facing FIRs,' he added. Mandatory use of M-Tags is helping reduce long queues, and staffing shortages in motorway police are being addressed,' Aleem Khan said. Regarding his visit to Karachi, the minister mentioned that he, along with the Federal Secretary Communications and Chairman of the NHA held meeting with the Chief Minister of Sindh and assured him of full support from his ministry. He also held a highly productive meeting with the business community led by Arif Habib, where investors expressed interest in participating in the development of Sindh's motorways and road networks. Additionally, he noted that a joint team is being formed to focus on additional options for the Lyari Expressway in Karachi, including improvements to interchanges and exploration of further development projects. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Mint
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
Andy Mukherjee: Are highway tolls driving India's middle class to ‘road rage'?
The American way of life in the second half of the 20th century came to be synonymous with big cars, bigger trucks and sprawling freeways on which they scurried about like purposeful ants. Cheerleaders point to productivity growth and the 24 cents saved by private industry for every dollar invested in the US highway network; critics talk about communities gutted by asphalt and the weakening of social ties. Decades later, the car economy, with all its promises and pitfalls, has latched on to a new host half a world away. At 6 million-plus kilometres, India's road network is the world's second largest now after the US, according to official data from New Delhi. Leave aside the vast differences in their quality, the most-populous nation has more than twice as many kilometres of roads per sq-km of land as the US, a much bigger country by size. China, which has built a lot of highways but chosen high-speed trains as the focal point of transport, has a much lower density. Also Read: Double trouble: Road mobility in India is both unsustainable and unjust For inter-city travel, India's template ought to have been 21st-century China, not 20th-century America. The fastest train journey between Chennai and Bengaluru, big hubs of activity, takes over four hours. In that time, one could go from Beijing to Shanghai, a distance nearly four times longer. Whoosh, the Jakarta-Bandung line that Indonesia built with Beijing's help, is a good model. India, however, doesn't want a new dependence on China, even though its own first high-speed line, being built with Japan's Shinkansen technology, is running years late. Roads hog the limelight in India. Much of its national highway system was built in the past 25 years. It has been the country's single-largest infrastructure development, ahead of railways and power, with nearly $30 billion invested last year. But since the network has been expanded with costly debt, road fees tend to be high. India's car-owning middle class (fewer than one in 10 households) feels squeezed by the $7 billion it pays in tolls every year. The National Highway Authority, which racked up more than $40 billion in debt, is deleveraging. It's selling assets to private operators and investment trusts; it's also securitizing a part of its portfolio. But no matter who owns them, debt financing means roads still have to generate revenue. The burden on motorists will only swell as new highways get constructed. Also Read: Rage spills over on roads; reels only fan the fire The US confronted the debt-financing problem well before President Dwight Eisenhower started its interstate highway programme in 1956. Toll Roads and Free Roads, a 1939 report prepared for the US Congress, rejected the usage-fee option as revenue from traffic in many places would not be enough to retire the bonds needed to back them. So the funding came from the government, which taxes motorists on petrol and diesel. However, Indian motorists pay 30% more for fuel than the average American. Then there is the vehicle itself. The auto industry complains that hefty taxes have put cars in the same category as drugs or alcohol. Half the cost of a new SUV is tax. It isn't hard to see why consumers are unhappy. The logistics industry is thrilled, though. The share of roads usage for freight transport has grown to 65%. Some of it has come at the expense of the British-built railways, once the cornerstone of the subcontinent's urbanization. Blue-collar migrant workers have no other choice. Trains moving slowly at 35-50kmph connect their homes in villages to their workplaces in cities. For the middle class, however, the romance of the Great Indian Railway Journeys has faded. Just like in the US, they're being pushed towards highways for relatively shorter distances and air travel for the rest. This is when a dozen small airports haven't had a single passenger in months, according to Bloomberg News. Within cities, subways are coming up even in places where they aren't a practical option. Meanwhile, between cities, 'range anxiety' on highways means slow adoption of electric vehicles. Also Read: Mint Quick Edit | Road pricing is an idea whose time has come No wonder roads account for 93% of carbon emissions from Indian transport, compared with 84% in the US and 81% in China. 'Our malfunctioning toll plazas, with their long queues, cause waste of fuel, underutilization of the vehicle fleet, loss of productivity, and contribute to intense pollution," says Anil K. Sood, a Hyderabad-based public policy analyst. In a deeply unequal society like India's, the cost of a car-centric economy is felt disproportionately by buyers of entry-level cars; they have practically gone on strike. It is serious enough for the government to consider proposals like an annual highway pass to ease the burden. But those will be temporary relief at best. Better public transport is what will make the middle class breathe easy. Not cars. ©Bloomberg The author is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services in Asia.
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Business Standard
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Standard
India's car-centric growth is driving the middle class to frustration
The American way of life in the second half of the 20th century came to be synonymous with big cars, even bigger trucks, and the sprawling freeways on which they scurry about like purposeful ants. Cheerleaders point to productivity growth and the 24 cents private industry saved for every dollar invested in the highway network; critics talk about communities gutted by asphalt and the weakening of social ties in large cities. Nearly 75 years later, the car economy — with all its promises and pitfalls — has latched on to a new host half a world away. At 6 million-plus kilometers (4 million miles), India's road network is now the second largest in the world after the US, according to official data from New Delhi. Leave aside the vast differences in their quality, the most-populous nation has more than twice as many kilometers of roads per square kilometer of land as the US, a much bigger country by size. China, which has built a lot of highways but chosen highspeed trains as the focal point of transport, has a much lower density. For intercity travel, India's template ought to have been 21st-century China, not 20th-century America. The fastest train journey between Chennai and Bengaluru, two hubs of activity in southern India, takes over four hours. In that time, one could go from Beijing to Shanghai, a distance nearly four times greater. Whoosh, the Jakarta-Bandung line that Indonesia built with Beijing's help, is a good model. New Delhi, however, doesn't want a new dependence on China, even though its own first high-speed line, being built with Japan's shinkansen technology, is running years late. Roads continue to hog the limelight. Much of India's national highway system was built in the past 25 years. It has been the country's single-largest infrastructure development, ahead of railways and power, with nearly $30 billion invested last year. But since the network has been expanded with expensive debt, the cost to users is high. A still-small, car-owning middle class (fewer than one in 10 households) is feeling squeezed by the $7 billion it pays in tolls every year. The National Highway Authority, which racked up more than $40 billion in debt, is deleveraging. It's selling assets to private operators and investment trusts; it's also securitizing a part of its portfolio. But no matter who owns them, debt financing means roads still have to generate revenue. The burden on motorists will only swell as new highways get constructed. The US confronted the debt-financing problem well before President Dwight Eisenhower started the interstate highway program in 1956. Toll Roads and Free Roads, a 1939 report prepared for Congress, rejected the usage-fee option as revenue from traffic in many places wouldn't be enough to retire the bonds needed to back them. So the funding came from the government, which taxes motorists on gasoline and diesel. However, Indian motorists are paying 30% more for fuel than the average American. Then there is the vehicle itself. The auto industry complains that hefty taxes have put cars in the same category as drugs or alcohol. Half the cost of a new SUV is tax. It isn't hard to see why consumers are unhappy. The logistics industry is thrilled, though. The market share of roads in freight transport has grown to 65%. Some of it has come at the expense of the British-built railways, once the cornerstone of the sub-continent's urbanization. Blue-collar migrant workers don't have a choice. Trains moving at slow speeds of 35 to 50 kilometers per hour connect their homes in villages to their workplaces in cities. For the middle class, however, the romance of the Great Indian Railway Journeys has faded. Just like in the US, they're being pushed toward highways for relatively shorter distances and to air travel for the rest. This is when a dozen small airports haven't had a single passenger in months, according to Bloomberg News. Within cities, subways are coming up even in places where they aren't a practical option. Meanwhile, between cities, 'range anxiety' on highways means slow adoption of electric vehicles. No wonder then that roads accounts for 93% of carbon emissions from transport, compared with 84% in the US and 81% in China. 'Our malfunctioning toll plazas, with their long queues, cause waste of fuel, underutilization of the vehicle fleet, loss of productivity, and contribute to intense pollution,' says Anil K. Sood, a Hyderabad-based public policy analyst. In a deeply unequal society like India's, the cost of a car-centric economy is felt disproportionately by buyers of entry-level hatchbacks; they have practically gone on strike. Things are serious enough for the government to consider proposals like an annual highway pass to lower the load. But those will at best bring temporary relief. Better public transport is what will make the middle class breathe easy. Not cars.
Express Tribune
13-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Interchange redesign raises Ring Road cost
With 50% of the Rawalpindi Ring Road project completed, authorities have decided to redesign the Thalian Interchange into a broad-based structure to accommodate higher traffic volumes. This change comes after consultations with the National Highway Authority (NHA), as the interchange falls within its jurisdiction. As a result, the project's overall cost is now expected to escalate, with the contractor also demanding increased compensation due to construction cost escalations. Originally, the revised PC-1 for the project was approved at Rs33 billion by ECNEC, reduced from an earlier proposed Rs39b. However, due to the redesign of the Thalian Interchange, increased land acquisition, and rising construction costs, the budget is now projected to rise againpotentially reaching Rs39 to Rs40b. The contractor argues that the current rates date back to 2021, while costs in 2025 have significantly increased. The Ring Road, stretching 38.3 kilometers from GT Road Rawat (Banth Mor) to Thalian Motorway Interchange, is progressing rapidly. Under the execution of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA)'s Project Management Unit (PMU), and contracted to the Frontier Works Organization (FWO), the project includes five interchanges (Banth, Chak Beli Khan, Adiala Road, Chakri Road, and Thalian), two river bridges, seven nullah bridges, one railway bridge, 11 overpasses, 10 subways, and 53 culverts. In light of the redesign at Thalian, the RDA has been assigned to initiate Section 4 for acquiring additional land. The new interchange will not only handle current traffic more efficiently but also serve future expansion plans, particularly Phase 2 of the Ring Road. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has set a deadline of December 2025 for the project's completion. Meanwhile, the proposal to establish economic zones along both sides of the Ring Road has yet to gain approval. The Rawalpindi and Islamabad Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCIs), along with other business associations, continue to push for this initiative, considering it a potential game changer for economic development in the region.
