Govt to spend Rs.92bn in Hyderabad-Sukkar Motorway project

To make Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway project financially viable and appealing to private parties, the board of the Public Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) approved funds of Rs92 billion from the budget and toll charges on Wednesday.

According to the new financing framework, the project’s cost could rise from Rs165 billion to Rs201 billion, up from the Rs165 billion authorized a year ago. The PPPA board meeting was chaired by Minister of Planning and Development Asad Umar.

The contractor will collect tolls from commuters for a period of 25 years, with the first year’s toll rate set at Rs860 per vehicle, with the contractor authorized to raise the rate by 7.5 percent annually.

As per Umar, PPPA has approved the viability gap fund and transaction structure for the Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway project. He added that this highway would be the largest project in the Sindh development package announced by the Prime Minister last week.