ISLAMABAD: National Highway Authority (NHA) chairman Shahid Ashraf Tarar on Wednesday underlined the need for awarding road construction contracts on the basis of performance in order to reduce costs and boost durability.

While speaking at a conference on `Road Management: Enabling Economic Corridors through Sustainable Transport Sector Development`, Mr Tarar said that performance-based contracts was a management approach which offers several advantages by saving cost of maintaining road assets and network with fewer staff and produces quality work.

The NHA spent Rs 24 billion on maintenance every year due to low quality work and the huge amount could be saved if the PBC approach was adopted, he added.