Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Establishment Division Senator Ahad Cheema has directed the National Highway Authority (NHA) to prepare a practical business plan with clear timelines and an assessment of its own capacity, calling for realistic project appraisals and sound financing decisions to strengthen the authority's financial sustainability.

He issued the direction while chairing a meeting to review measures for developing the authority's business plan, the ongoing assessment with an Asian Development Bank (ADB) consultant and ways to achieve financial viability, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Officials briefed the meeting on the initial findings of the study with the ADB consultant, and different models and options were presented to improve the authority's performance, strengthen its operations and support financial sustainability.

The minister called for a thorough review of projects under consideration, with the planning commission proforma, or PC-I, setting out their commercial viability through more realistic indicators to facilitate appraisal by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP).

He asked the authority to classify projects according to their viability and financing requirements, including those requiring government or foreign funding, and said initial project studies should clearly assess viability and be shared at an early stage with the Central Monitoring Unit (CMU) of the Ministry of Finance for comments.

The minister underscored that government or external financing for NHA projects should not lead to a reduction in the authority's Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocation, saying the government was not in favour of cutting the allocation, as PSDP funding remained essential to the development programme.

He stressed that commercially, economically and socially viable projects should be prioritised to strengthen financial sustainability and help the authority avoid an unsustainable debt-servicing burden, while projects that are not commercially viable should undergo a thorough study and review before any decision is made.

He also urged the authority to expedite its work with the ADB consultant, whose input is expected to strengthen project mapping, feasibility assessments and financial analysis. Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal, Communications Secretary Ali Sher Mehsud, NHA Chief Executive Officer and other senior officials attended the meeting.