By Hina Kiyani
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan Thursday instructed a review of the Sialkot to Rawalpindi Motorway project, proposing an upgrade from four lanes to six lanes to meet the future needs of the next 50 years.
During a high-level meeting of the National Highway Authority (NHA), Aleem Khan said that all motorways should be free of barriers and obstructions for vehicles.
He advocated for public awareness through print and electronic media regarding these updates. The Minister reviewed the progress on various NHA projects, including those in Balochistan, Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan.
He directed the installation of live cameras on all NHA construction projects to enable real-time monitoring. Highlighting the importance of highways and motorways as national assets, he stressed the need to consider future demands due to population growth.
The minister prioritized the construction of economically beneficial roads and instructed the NHA to implement the phase-wise construction of the N25 highway in Balochistan, costing Rs. 150 billion.
He also called for third-party evaluations of repair projects to ensure the proper utilization of government funds.
He urged the NHA to engage with the Gilgit-Baltistan government to resolve communication issues and to address directives from the Balochistan High Court by coordinating with the provincial government. Special instructions were issued regarding the construction of CPEC-linked highways, with NHA required to include plans in a dashboard for reporting to the Prime Minister.
He also called for a feasibility report on the shortest routes to access Central Asian countries in the future.
The meeting, attended by the Federal Secretary for Communications, Chairman of the NHA, and senior officers, included briefings on ongoing projects and resulted in the approval of several important decisions.
