NHA Utilises 56% of Development Budget in First Half of FY26

Islamabad: The National Highway Authority (NHA) has spent more than half of its development budget during the first six months of the current fiscal year, according to officials.

Sources said the authority received PKR 223.28 billion under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for 71 infrastructure projects, out of which PKR 124.31 billion was utilised between July 2025 and January 2026, representing about 56 percent of the allocation.

A significant portion of the funding was directed toward the N-25 Balochistan Expressway, where PKR 100 billion had been allocated for three projects. Of this amount, PKR 55.13 billion has already been spent.

For 14 essential rupee cover projects, the NHA utilised PKR 23.93 billion out of the PKR 61.57 billion allocated. Similarly, 12 critical national projects received PKR 20.46 billion in spending from their PKR 26.93 billion allocation.

Funding utilisation was also substantial for projects nearing completion. Around PKR 8 billion of the PKR 9 billion earmarked for 10 sub-completed projects has been spent, while PKR 12.11 billion out of PKR 13.6 billion has been used for eight projects close to completion. Other schemes received PKR 3.84 billion from the PKR 6.17 billion allocated.

However, progress remained limited on three Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects, which have utilised only PKR 81 million from the PKR 6 billion allocated. The foreign-funded portion of the NHA’s PSDP currently stands at PKR 19.2 billion.

Overall, the NHA is overseeing development projects valued at approximately PKR 3.4 trillion, with PKR 2.7 trillion expected to carry forward into FY 2026–27. This includes the $1.8 billion Sukkur–Hyderabad (M-6) Motorway project.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives authorised PKR 555.5 billion for disbursement during July–January, representing 55.55 percent of the total PKR 1 trillion PSDP allocation for FY2025–26. Actual spending during this period reached PKR 272.78 billion, equivalent to 27.28 percent of the overall development budget.

Officials noted that the NHA holds the largest share of the PSDP allocation and continues to play a key role in advancing Pakistan’s road and highway infrastructure projects.