ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal directed the National Highways Authority (NHA) to expedite the construction work on the existing projects related to the infrastructure while removing the bottlenecks without any delay.

The minister made these remarks while chairing a meeting on Thursday. The meeting also discussed the Federal Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Policy, 2023-28, and reviewed the progress of the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) and portfolio of the NHA.

The meeting was attended by the secretary Ministry of Communication, the secretary Planning Ministry, the chairman NHA, and other relevant stakeholders such as the Minister of Petroleum and Water Resources Musadik Malik, Minister for Maritime Affairs Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Dr Nadeem Javaid, Professor of Economics and Strategy, Member Social Sector Raffiullah Kakar; CEO of the Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A), Malik Ahmad Khan; and consultants from the Asian Development Bank.

During the meeting, the minister was given a detailed briefing on PSDP (2024-25) and the existing portfolio of NHA. The minister directed the relevant stakeholders to remove the obstacles in the construction work on existing projects.

The meeting, aligning with the prime minister’s directives outlined during the approval of the Federal PPP Policy 2023-2028, aimed at a strategic review of the policy’s operational framework. This initiative is part of a broader effort to enhance the implementation mechanism and effectiveness of the PPP policy.

The agenda of the Committee meeting was focused on identifying areas for improvement within the Federal PPP Policy 2023-2028 and formulating strategies to enhance its implementation mechanism.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024