CM launches five road projects under PPP

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Sunday formally launch-ed five road projects under the Punjab Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Authority, handing their management and operations over to the private sector in a move expected to generate Rs 22 billion in revenue for the provincial government. The chief minister performed the digital inauguration of the projects, which include the 80-kilometre Muridke-Narowal Road, 33-km Shakargarh-Narowal Road, 97-km Faisalabad Ring Road, 52-km Faisalabad-Sahianwala Road and 56-km Faisalabad-Samundri-Rajana Road. Under the PPP arrangement, modern electronic toll plazas will be established on the roads. Private contractors will collect tolls, linked with the National Highway Authority (NHA), for seven years and will also be responsible for the maintenance, repair and rehabilitation of the roads. PPP Authority Vice Chairperson and Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb briefed the chief minister on the projects and the authority’s broader pipeline. The government said the processing time for PPP projects had been reduced from two years to six months. Four more roads — Bahawalpur-Yazman (42km), Yazman-Ahmedpur East (43km), Raiwind-Changa Manga (28km) and Gajumata-Kasur (26km) — will also be transferred to the PPP mode. The authority is also processing projects in water and sanitation, tourism, healthcare, education, waste management, transport and sports. These include water and sanitation projects in Chakwal and Kasur, a Time Travel Park in Lahore, an FMD vaccine protection plant, a parking plaza and multimodal commercial facility at Badami Bagh, and a bridge over the Sutlej at Sahoka Patan. PPP projects have also been planned for solid waste management at fruit and vegetable markets through Black Soldier Fly larvae plants, management of 100 sports grounds and allied facilities, and construction of a modern truck terminal in Faisalabad. The pipeline includes girls’ and boys’ hostels at Punjab University and 28 other public universities, hostels at three medical colleges, and 14 hostels for working women across the province. A nursing hostel will also be built at Sahiwal Teaching Hospital, while the operation and development of Fareedia Park, Sahiwal, will be undertaken under the PPP framework. Other proposed projects include hospitals, parks, sports grounds, waste-to-energy schemes, effluent treatment plants in industrial zones, parking plazas, tourism facilities, water supply and recycling projects, as well as the development of Zarafa Café and food streets. The chief minister was briefed that divisional PPP working parties, headed by commissioners, would be empowered to approve and implement projects costing up to Rs 500 million. The chief minister praised Finance Secretary Mujahid Sher Dil, Communications Secretary Raja Jahangir Anwar, PPP Authority CEO Dr Zeeshan Hanif and their teams for advancing the PPP programme. Communications Minister Sohaib Ahmed Bharth, Finance Secretary Mujahid Sher Dil and Communications Secretary Raja Jahangir Anwar also spoke on the occasion. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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