Pakistan’s National Highways Authority aims to solicit bids for the 117km, six-lane greenfield Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway (KRM) in October, according to two sources familiar.

The central roads authority is in the midst of securing final approvals from the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) as well as the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), the sources said.

The CDWP operates under the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and approves development projects. It screens the projects before sending them on to the ECNEC for final approval.

In July this year, the board of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Authority approved a revised commercial structure for the project as well as its reconfiguration to six lanes from four earlier, according to local media reports.

With an estimated cost of PKR 202.6bn (USD 714m), the project will include PKR 40bn as viability funding, according to the reports.

The sources today told this news service that the financial structure of the project was revised as well.

There are also revisions to the toll rates and traffic forecasts. The project’s viability is improved on the back of the updated traffic estimates and proposed increase in user charges, coupled with a significant drop in the interest rates during the last one year in the country, the sources said without elaborating.

The revised financial structure is more investor friendly as it incorporates an interest rate cover, the sources said without providing details.

This is the second time the government is attempting the project.

It was initially tendered in 2022 as a four-lane road. Due to bidder-related challenges, including inability of the selected joint venture to meet key requirements, the letter of intent was revoked in August 2023.

The NHA, CDWP and ECNEC did not respond to requests for comment.