ISLAMABAD: Engineer-in-Chief Pakistan Army Lieutenant General Khalid Asghar said on Wednesday that strategic partnership between NHA and FWO on Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9), after successful completion of Lahore-Islamabad Motorway (M-2), is yet another achievement.
He said that participation of private sector and financial institutions in the highway sector is a fruitful endeavor for the country and BOT arrangements will further boost the socio-economic sector of the country, he added.
He expressed these views while addressing the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding on Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9), here at FWO Headquarter in Rawalpindi as the chief guest.
Chairman NHA Shahid Ashraf Tarar also addressed the ceremony, whereasDirector General Frienter Works organisation FWO Major General Muhammad Afzal and other officials were also present. The Memorandum of understanding was signed on behalf of NHA by Member PPP Altamash Khan, whereas as regional heads of Muslim Commercial Bank and United Bank Limited also signed the memorandum.
The ceremony was also attended by Member Planning NHA Raja Nosherwan, Member Finance Shoaib Ahmad Khan, Member Construction Yousaf Ali Khan, GM PPP Muhammad Yousaf Barakzai, GM P&CA Pervaiz Iqbal Sulehri, GM Motorway (M-2) Shahid Ihsanullah, Director PP-I Col(retd) Azeem Tahir, Director PP-2 Iftikhar Mahboob, and from FWO Deputy DG Brig Rashid Ahmad, Director Logistics Brig. Anwar Sheikh, Director Operations Brig Waqar Hasnain, Director Planning Brig. Muhammad Sultan, Consultant Brig r Dr. Nasrullah Ubaid, Director Finance Abubakar Yousaf Mitha and other high officials participated in the ceremony.
The Chief Guest Leutinent General Khalid Asghar said that ensuring financial close of Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-2) within 100 days is a remarkable achievement of the two organizations. He further said that Pakistan has a strategic location in the region that connects various countries together and its highways will further bring them closer together that will ultimately boost the economies of the whole region.
Earlier, DG FWO Major General Muhammad Afzal said that NHA and FWO are working to bring revolutionary changes in the communications sector and hence boost its trade, tourism, industry and agriculture so that the standard of life of its people can be improved.
He further said that NHA and FWO, for the first time in the country’s history, have devised a mechanism to involve the private sector and the two leading banks of the country to participate in road infrastructure and networking projects.The FWO, he said, has successfully completed Lahore-Islamabad Motorway (M-2), Karachi-Thatta Expressway and Habibabad Flyover projects on BOT basis before the stipulated time and now carpeting of Lahore-Islamabad Motorway’s carpeting is rapidly in progress.
Chairman NHA Shahid Ashraf Tarar on this occasion said that NHA is making a big contribution in the development of the country by upgrading and expanding the country’s road network and these changes will strengthen our trade, tourism, industry and agriculture and ultimately our quality of life will improve, he added.
The Chairman NHA said that development of road infrastructure is an important element of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s development vision. Under Prime Minister’s policy, up-gradation of the existing system and launching of new projects are the hallmarks of the present democratic government, the Chairman said. He said that Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9) is the largest BOT project in the country so far, and it will further augment our capacity in the communications sector.
