ISLAMABAD: The National Highway Authority (NHA) recorded a deficit of PKR 288.54 billion during FY2024-25, bringing its cumulative deficit since inception to PKR 2.07 trillion.
According to the Auditor-General of Pakistan’s Audit Report 2025-26, covering FY2023-24 and FY2024-25, the NHA generated total revenue of PKR 122.02 billion in FY2024-25. Toll receipts, the largest component of its revenue, amounted to PKR 64.42 billion, accounting for 52.8 percent of total earnings.
The report noted that the NHA continues to face significant challenges in maintaining the national road network and repaying Cash Development Loans (CDLs) from its available financial resources.
The report stated that the NHA assets stood at PKR 5.83 trillion. This has been further exacerbated by the CDL-financing burden of total debt PKR3.75 trillion, which includes PKR 1.40 trillion mark-up.
The NHA has been facing short-term and long-term liquidity constraints because of a low current ratio, which stands at 0.11. The Foreign exchange losses for the year 2024-25 stand at PKR 2.70 billion, which also impacts the NHA’s financial health. The contingencies & commitments on account of contractor claims, litigations, and land compensation further exacerbate the financial health of the NHA. As a state-owned enterprise, the NHA has to comply with enhanced accountability requirements about governance, sustainability, revenue collection, expanding road infrastructure, and resolution of sub-judice matters.
While elaborating a summary of key achievements of the entity, the report stated that partial progress has been made in implementing Electronic Toll & Traffic Management (ETTM) systems, covering eight motorways/expressways and 14 toll plazas on national highways, to improve transparency, real-time revenue monitoring, and time economy for commuters by converting manual toll collection to M-tag rehabilitation of Islamabad-Murree Dual Carriageway.
According to the salient audit findings, weak legal representation and delayed responses to claims resulted in adverse arbitration awards and heavy financial liabilities for the authority. Project expenditures exceeded sanctioned limits without prior approval, violating financial regulations and leading to unauthorized spending. Significant delays in the submission of PC-IV and PC-V, alongside incomplete asset registers, have hindered the formal closure and capitalization of completed projects. Weak monitoring mechanisms and a lack of a digitized database resulted in significant revenue leakages from Tolls, Right of Way, leases, and fines.
Administrative inaction against officials responsible for allowing guarantees to expire and making excess payments has perpetuated a culture of non-compliance
Audit considered Emphasis of Matter of the financial auditor and examined the matter further. Audit found subjudice cases about land acquisition for a sum of PKR 114.497 billion and contractor’s related cases for a sum of PKR 254.245 billion. Disputes with reference to Right of Way leases have a potential financial implication amounting to PKR 3.419 billion. Audit observed that weak legal representation and delayed responses to claims resulted in adverse arbitration awards and heavy financial liabilities for the Authority.
In its operations, the NHA generated net deficits throughout the period of ten years, with a net deficit ratio of (236.52 percent) in FY 2024-25 and (327.93 percent) in FY 2023-24. Earlier, the NHA experienced net deficits in FY 2015-16 to FY 2022-23, ranging from (560.56 percent) to (248.16 percent).
Liquidity indicators remained under pressure throughout the period, with the current ratio dropping to 0.11 in FY 2024-25. Under liabilities, long-term loans stood at PKR 1,799.313 billion in FY 2024-25 and represented the most significant long-term liability of the NHA.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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