Islamabad: The government has decided to continue using the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project financing model for highway projects in the country, according to a news source. This was stated by Minister of State for Communication Murad Saeed at a ceremony held at the National Highway Authority (NHA) headquarters.
Saeed revealed that he has vowed to continue using the BOT model, which had been adopted by former NHA Chairman Shahid Ashraf Tarar. This has been credited as a positive step towards significantly reducing the financial burden of highway projects on such a large scale on the national exchequer. Road projects worth billions of rupees has already been undertaken on BOT basis under Tarar’s regime, and it has been decided that this financial model would continue to be followed.
This was revealed at a ceremony held to launch an app, which will allow the public to access information about ongoing highway projects. This information will include the source of funding of projects, their status, CPEC routes, road safety guidelines, contact details, and project location. This app has been designed to have full transparency between the NHA and the general public, and keep the public updated on ongoing mega-highway projects.
