Islamabad: The Planning Commission of Pakistan has announced on Friday (October 15) the approval of the PKR 79 billion transaction structure of the Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway project, news sources reported.
The approval was given by the Public-Private Partnership Authority (P3A) in its 18th board of directors meeting presided over by the Planning Minister Asad Umar. As per the details, the approval was given after the careful analysis of the feasibility study of the project conducted by the National Highway Authority (NHA). Furthermore, the 117-kilometre-long four-lane Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway project will be supported by the government through the operational Viability Gap Fund (VGF) to make it more open to private-sector participation. The board also decided to provide maximum support and ideal investment for the project through an optimal mix of VGF and capital.
The project will be finished in 24 months and would provide a faster and shorter route to Islamabad from Lahore than the current Lahore-Islamabad route. The project has a 25-year concession duration, including construction, and a six-month financial closure time. The meeting was attended by the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, secretaries and nominees of planning, finance, communications, Member Private Sector Development, Member Infrastructure and Regional Connectivity, Director General Debt Office of the Finance Division, the NHA chairman, P3A Chief Executive Officer, and private members of the board Huma Ejaz Zaman and Akbar Ayub Khan.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
