M-9 motorway project to be executed on public-private basis

ASMA RAZAQ

ISLAMABAD: The National Highway Authority (NHA) would undertake the construction of M-9 Motorway Project on a public-private basis in collaboration with Binapuri Holdings Malaysia, costing over Rs 24.93 billion.

Official documents available with Business Recorder show that the project includes the Rehabilitation of existing 136 km, 2 lane carriageway in the Karachi-Hyderabad direction (North Bound), construction of an additional new lane on the outer side with a width of 3.5m, rehabilitation of the existing 136 km, 2 lane carriageway in the Hyderabad-Karachi direction (South Bound) and construction of an additional new lane on the outer side with a width of 3.5m, construction of 11 bridges with 4 bridges having an additional extension on either side to accommodate service roads and allow traffic to negotiate land-locked areas, and the construction of 7 New Interchanges to support populations, towns and industrial zones.

The documents also show that the project will be launched on the basis of Build Operate Transfer (BOT) basis and Binapuri Holdings Malaysia will rehabilitate the existing highway, construct the additional infrastructure, maintain and operate it over the concession period of 25 years and transfer the created assets at the end of the project’s life.

According to the documents, during the construction period the private party will receive the toll revenue collected from the existing highway through the Open Revenue Collection System (ORCS).

The documents highlight that due to budgetary constraints and to bring increased efficiency in road infrastructure, the Government is promoting private sector participation in highway infrastructure projects.

According to documents, the Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF) is performing its role as a facilitator for government institutions in implementing projects thorough public-private partnership.