Business
NHA under fire over Rs146b road deal | The Express Tribune
ISLAMABAD:
The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs on Monday raised strong concerns over the National Highway Authority’s (NHA) failure to present complete records regarding the award of a contract for the N-55 under Tranche-III of the Central Asian Regional Economic Corridor (CAREC).
The contract was awarded to a consortium led by Chinese firm M/s Ningxia Communications Construction, with local partners M/s Rustam Associates and M/s Dynamic Constructors. The deal is valued at Rs146 billion, with a margin of Rs13.2 billion.
The committee, chaired by Senator Saifullah Abbro, criticised NHA officials for withholding key documents despite repeated requests. NHA Chairman Sheheryar Sultan informed the committee that nine documents had been requested, of which five had already been submitted, while the remaining four were being collected from other departments.
He also disclosed to the committee that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed an inquiry committee headed by retired federal secretary Muhammad Mushtaq Ahmed to review the procurement process. The panel also includes the commerce secretary, a former NHA member, a retired Punjab Communications & Works officer, and the member infrastructure of the Planning Commission.
He said that to ensure transparency, three NHA members and five officers had been suspended on the prime minister’s orders. Sultan urged the Senate body to wait for the inquiry’s findings, but the request was rejected by the committee chair.
Senator Abbro reiterated his concerns, claiming the contract went to a “non-performing firm” earlier disqualified from the MultanLodhran project. “We are not bound by the prime minister’s inquiry committee. Even if that committee clears the award, we will continue with our proceedings,” he stated.
The NHA chairman replied that disqualification from one project does not automatically prevent participation in another unless upheld by a legal forum. Officials added that while the Chinese firm had initially been disqualified, the decision was later overturned by an arbitrator appointed by the Islamabad High Court.
On another matter, Sultan briefed the committee on flood damages. He said the entire NHA road network remained open except for a two-kilometre stretch on the GilgitShandur road. After clearing highways, the NHA had also begun restoring blocked provincial roads on the prime minister’s directives.
Separately, consortium spokesperson Imdad Ullah defended the contract while briefing media. He insisted it was won through a transparent, competitive bidding process. He claimed companies owned by two lawmakers had lost in the bidding and accused the Senate committee of “interfering in an open and transparent procurement process” to obstruct a multi-billion-rupee project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The NHA chairman stated that disqualification from one project does not automatically prevent participation in another unless upheld by a legal forum
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday staged a strong comeback, breaking the long bearish momentum as snowballing forex reserves have lifted investor sentiment.
During intraday trading, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 index gained a whopping 3,146.23 points to climb to 184,602.56 points, marking a positive change of 1.70%.
Out of 562 active companies, share prices of 375 advanced and of 67 declined while rates of 120 companies remained unchanged.
Economic analysts said the uptick offered some breathing space for the economy, even as the country continued to keep a close watch on external inflows and outflows.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves inched up by $16 million over the past week, according to figures released by the State Bank of Pakistan.
The central bank said its official reserves rose from $16.0557 billion to $16.0718 billion, showing a modest gain during the week.
Overall, the country’s total reserves climbed to $21.2484 billion.
The State Bank also noted that commercial banks’ holdings went up by $5.6 million, reaching $5.1927 billion.
The central bank projects the FY26 current account deficit at 0–1% of GDP and sees reserves at $17.8 billion by June 2026 with planned official inflows.
A day earlier, the stock exchange dropped by over 1,100 points due to massive selling pressure.
The PSX had extended losses after recording an increase for a brief period as investors seemed cautious amid rising geopolitical tensions involving Iran.
During intraday trading, the KSE-100 index touched 183,717.53 due to strong buying in the early sessions before it turned bearish by losing 69.29 points to close at 182,500.52 points.
International officials have warned that US military intervention in Iran now appears likely and could take place within the next 24 hours amid sharply escalating tensions in the Middle East.
American, European and Israeli sources said preparations for possible action were under way as Washington began evacuating personnel from its major air base in Qatar.
NEW DELHI: People with job cards assigned under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Scheme will be able to get work without disruption when transition takes place to new rural employment framework under Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act.Even though exact timeframe is not known yet, rural development ministry officials said the VB-G RAM G scheme will come into force in the coming financial year after the Centre frames and notifies the rules. After govt notifies the Act’s commencement date, states will get six months to make their schemes to enable implementation of the law.To ensure there is no disruption and job guarantee is upheld during transition from MGNREGA, it has been proposed to enable workers to use the same job cards issued under MGNREGA with Aadhaar-based eKYC.The officials said that as of now, around 75% of job cards have been verified with eKYC under the ongoing scheme. Moreover, ongoing projects under MGNREGA, if incomplete when the transition happens to the new scheme, would stay on course.Meanwhile, work is on to frame rules, lay out regulations on normative allocations, fund flow plan, IT framework, a national-level steering panel and social audits.Under the new law, focus will be on transparency to weed out leakages and duplicacy of work,the social audit system will be strengthened, and technology leveraged to create systems to establish work progress, timely wage payment and accountability through ‘e-measurement’ books, sources said. Demand for work will have to be entered on a digital platform. Officials made it clear the new law in no way interferes with demand-driven character of the scheme.
Business
Gurugram Attracts Rs 86,588 Crore In Real Estate Investments In 2025 As RERA Clears 131 Projects
Last Updated:
Alongside rising investments, Gurugram RERA strengthened regulatory oversight to safeguard homebuyer and investor interests
Gurgaon Real Estate (Representative Image)
Gurugram emerged as one of India’s top real estate investment destinations in 2025, with projects worth Rs 86,588 crore receiving regulatory approvals during the year, according to data from the Gurugram Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Gurugram RERA).
Market observers said the numbers reflect strong investor confidence in the NCR’s largest commercial and residential hub.
Gurugram RERA registered 131 projects in calendar year 2025, representing development potential of 35,455 units across housing and commercial segments.
A striking feature of the data was the dominance of large-ticket projects. Just 28 major developments accounted for investments worth Rs 59,360 crore, highlighting the growing influence of institutional capital and large developers in shaping Gurugram’s property market.
Residential assets continued to attract the bulk of investment interest. Of the total units approved, 31,455 were residential, underscoring sustained end-user demand and long-term confidence in the city’s housing fundamentals.
According to Authority data, the residential mix included 17,405 group housing units, 5,720 mixed land use units, 4,040 residential floor units, 2,122 affordable group housing units, 1,954 units under the Deen Dayal housing scheme, and 214 residential plotted colony units.
Market observers said this diversified supply pipeline indicates capital deployment across both premium and mass segments, helping reduce concentration risk and deepen market resilience.
On the commercial side, Gurugram RERA approved about 4,000 commercial units, of which 168 were dedicated to IT parks, reinforcing Gurugram’s position as a preferred hub for technology firms and Global Capability Centres.
Analysts noted that the combination of office-led employment growth and residential expansion continues to make Gurugram attractive for long-term capital deployment.
Industry experts said the scale of investments approved in 2025 highlights Gurugram’s ability to attract capital despite global uncertainty, supported by infrastructure growth, a strong corporate base and an improving regulatory environment.
“With a large pipeline of approved projects and sustained interest from developers and institutional investors, Gurugram is expected to remain a key real estate investment destination in the coming years,” a Gurugram-based real estate expert said.
Tighter regulatory checks
Alongside rising investments, Gurugram RERA strengthened regulatory oversight to enhance transparency and safeguard homebuyer and investor interests.
“These steps included stricter scrutiny of developer submissions, mandatory site inspections by domain experts, and public consultation through mandatory notices before project registration,” an Authority official said.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google.
January 16, 2026, 07:44 IST
Read More
Australia’s apparel imports fall, textiles rise in July-Nov 2025
Robert Downey Jr. hails Timothée Chalamet as ‘one of the greats’
VTL Group boosts output by 10% with Coats Digital’s GSDCost solution
-
Politics1 week agoUK says provided assistance in US-led tanker seizure
-
Entertainment1 week agoDoes new US food pyramid put too much steak on your plate?
-
Entertainment1 week agoWhy did Nick Reiner’s lawyer Alan Jackson withdraw from case?
-
Sports5 days agoClock is ticking for Frank at Spurs, with dwindling evidence he deserves extra time
-
Business1 week agoTrump moves to ban home purchases by institutional investors
-
Sports1 week agoPGA of America CEO steps down after one year to take care of mother and mother-in-law
-
Tech3 days agoNew Proposed Legislation Would Let Self-Driving Cars Operate in New York State
-
Business1 week agoBulls dominate as KSE-100 breaks past 186,000 mark – SUCH TV