M-10, Naran-Chilas motorway, Guru Nanak and Murree-AJK expressways offered to private investors

Pakistan is looking for private investors to build four major road projects, including a 169 km section of the M-10 Motorway and a new motorway from Mansehra to Chilas through Naran, ARY News reported late on Wednesday. The projects would be built as public-private partnerships (PPPs), with private companies putting up the money and recovering it over time, usually through tolls.

The meeting in Islamabad was co-chaired by Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan and the Prime Minister's Adviser on Privatisation Muhammad Ali, with the National Highway Authority (NHA), the Privatisation Commission and the Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A).

The four projects

ARY did not report costs, timelines or lengths beyond the M-10 figure.

The model: Sialkot-Kharian

Officials cited the Sialkot-Kharian Motorway (M-12) as the model to follow. The wider aim is to turn the NHA into a financially self-sustaining body, with a target value of Rs 500 billion to Rs 1 trillion, and to reduce its reliance on money from the federal budget.

Aleem Khan told NHA officials to prepare business plans and pick suitable projects. The officials agreed to finish preliminary technical work and meet again within a week.

What it means if you drive

PPP roads are paid for by the people who use them, so expect tolls set to recover the investment rather than the lower rates on older government-built roads. Nothing changes on existing motorways from this meeting. For the Naran route, the practical gain would be a faster and safer drive to the Kaghan valley and on towards Gilgit-Baltistan, which today means the narrow N-15 that closes in winter.

The PPP push is not limited to these four: the M-6 Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway is also being built in sections with private partners, as we reported in September. Planning a trip by car? Our fuel cost calculator works out the petrol bill for any distance at Rs 379.31 a litre.