The Lahore-Bahawalpur motorway project is expected to begin in the next financial year, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Planning, saying the government was committed to completing the project of national importance.
The committee meeting was chaired by Chairman Abdul Qadir Gilani.
During the meeting, committee member Naveed Qamar raised concerns over the delay in the project and sought details about its completion timeline. He said the Lahore-Bahawalpur route was a key highway and asked the ministry to explain the reasons behind the delay.
Responding to the concerns, Ahsan Iqbal said the route was an important component of the country’s development corridor and carried national significance.
He said the project’s tender had already been awarded, but the government that came to power in 2018 terminated the scheme.
The minister said efforts were later made to execute the project through a public-private partnership model, while international financing was also arranged subsequently.
Ahsan Iqbal expressed hope that work on the project would commence during the next fiscal year and said the government was determined to ensure its completion.
He told the committee that the federal government had limited fiscal space for development spending and noted that both the federal and provincial governments were operating with constrained development budgets.
