The recent reports labeling the National Highway Authority (NHA) as a loss-making State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) are rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of accounting entries versus actual operational health. While news outlets cite a staggering deficit, a closer look at the audited financial statements indicates that the NHA is not experiencing actual financial losses. For the F.Y. 2024-25, the Authority reported a robust Net Operating Income of 43.612 billion PKR, calculated from 122.021 billion PKR in revenue against 78.409 billion PKR in operating expenditures. The reported "accounting deficit" of 288.541 billion PKR arises almost entirely from non-cash entries—specifically 133.771 billion PKR in depreciation and 193.488 billion PKR in finance costs—which do not involve any direct cash outflows.
?The NHA has evolved into a financially independent entity that no longer imposes a burden on national fiscal resources. Unlike many other organizations, the NHA does not receive any budgetary allocation for its administrative expenses and manages these entirely from its own resources. This financial autonomy extends to its workforce; the NHA does not rely on the Federal Government for employee post-retirement benefits. Instead, it has established its own independent pension and retirement funds, governed by a Board of Trustees and audited according to prevailing standards. Furthermore, while 50% of the NHA network serves as a non-revenue generating Public Service Obligation, the Authority successfully finances the maintenance of the entire network through its own generated income.
?To ensure long-term sustainability, the NHA is undergoing a transformation aimed at operational efficiency and debt restructuring. Under the leadership of Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan, the recent milestones include a 63% growth in operating income (rising from 66.8 billion to 108.27 billion PKR) and a 31% reduction in maintenance-related expenditures. The Authority has also revolutionized revenue collection, with 81% of tolling now conducted via M-Tag as of January 2025. Through the ADB-funded SOE Transformation Programme, the NHA is currently rationalizing its debt by classifying projects into categories based on their commercial viability. These measures reinforce the fact that the NHA's operations remain cash-positive and are a testament to its financial resilience.
