The National Highway Authority (NHA) informed a parliamentary panel on Tuesday that the cost of motorways construction has increased in the last two years and it is Rs. 20 billion over and above the estimates.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Communications, in its meeting chaired by Dr. Ibad Ullah Khan, held a detailed discussion on the issues relating to motorways, including the construction cost, toll tax, and prices of food and other items.
The NHA officials informed the committee that the cost of construction of motorways had increased by Rs. 20 billion. This was received by the committee members as a surprise, following the government claims that the current expenditure on the construction of one kilometer of a road was much cheaper compared to the cost of road projects carried out by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government.
Member Murtaza Javed Abbasi asked the officials if the cost of construction of road projects had been reduced, whereas the cost of cement per bag had in fact gone up by Rs. 250 and the price of a ton of steel had risen by Rs. 100000 in last three years. The Chair also repeated the same question to the officials who were flanked by Chairman NHA Khurram Agha. Dr. Ibad said, “We hear that in 2018 expensive roads were being built, now they are getting cheaper, is that so?” NHA Member Asim Amin said, “I am silent over this, as I cannot say anything.”
Murtaza Javed Abbasi criticized the Federal Minister for Communications, Murad Saeed, for not attending the committee meetings. “When the Minister is saying that the construction cost of roads has been reduced, give details,” said Murtaza Javed Abbasi.
The NHA officials also informed the committee of the toll taxes and confirmed that the toll tax on M-2 and M-9 had not been increased since 2011. MNA Osama Qadri complained about the non-availability of facilities on the M-9 Karachi-Hyderabad motorway and said that the NHA could not build pedestrian bridges on the motorway in six years. He said that the toll tax collection system was not rightly working, as motorists had to wait in long queues.
Murtaza Javed Abbasi added that it took one hour to reach Peshawar from Haripur, but exiting the toll plaza added an additional hour to the journey.
Talking about the complaints of expensive food items on motorways, the NHA demanded magisterial powers for NHA officials while giving the responsibility of checking and controlling the prices to the district administration. The officials said fines for selling expensive items on motorways had been increased from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 250,0000. Earlier, the NHA officials had reduced fines for supplying expensive goods on motorways
Murtaza Javed further said that food items were being sold at double prices on all motorways. A water bottle was also available on the motorway at double price, he observed, stating that, “The NHA cannot control prices.” He noted that the prices had not been controlled for the last 10 years, so action should be taken against those responsible.
The NA committee ordered the NHA to take steps to control prices within a month.
