Minister orders special audit of five NHA projects including Lyari Experssway

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Communications Murad Saeed has written a letter to the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), asking him to conduct special audit of five NHA projects.

The projects include Lyari Expressway, Khuzdar-Shahdadkot Highway(M-8), Gwadar-Turbat-Hoshab Highway (M-8), Lowari Tunnel (N-45) Civil Works, and Kalat-Quetta-Chaman Highway (N-25).

In his letter, the minister said these five projects of National Highway Authority (NHA) were inordinately delayed, causing price escalation and other adverse effects on the governance.

He asked the AGP to conduct special audit of these projects, and submit the report within 30 days.

On Sep 19, Saeed hinted at launching e-tendering and billing system across the country to ensure transparency and accountability within the ministry.

The state minister reiterated that there will be no compromise on transparency and accountability, and from the first day the government has implemented revolutionary vision of change and reforms in the institutions.

He also vowed to implement PM Imran’s vision of eradicating corruption and strengthening public departments.

He was briefed by chairman National Highway Authority (NHA) and other attached departments on the major ongoing, pending and future projects.

He also directed the ministry’s officials to launch a smart phone app within a month to provide necessary information particularly the project’s implementation, execution and progress in the desired region.

“This application is not new as it’s already been functional in most of the developed countries,” he said.