Pakistan renews call for Sikh investors to back Guru Nanak Expressway

Pakistan is inviting Sikhs living in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States to invest in the proposed Guru Nanak Expressway, a highway project aimed at improving connectivity between two  important Sikh religious sites.

Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan said the project would be opened to foreign investment and developed to international standards, given its religious, historical and spiritual significance to the Sikh community.

Speaking at a National Highway Authority (NHA) meeting in Islamabad on Thursday (Oct 8), Khan renewed the government’s appeal for overseas Sikh participation in the project.

Pakistan’s Associated Press reported that the government had decided to move the expressway towards international tendering.

The project was first announced in January 2026, when Khan outlined plans for a Sialkot-Kartarpur motorway, named the Guru Nanak Expressway, to improve access to Kartarpur and Nankana Sahib.

Kartarpur is where Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, spent his final years, while Nankana Sahib is his birthplace.

The proposed expressway, previously described by the NHA as stretching 83.8 kilometres, forms part of wider plans to connect the pilgrimage centres to Pakistan’s motorway network.

In April, Khan said the project would be developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, alongside hotels, shopping malls and service areas catering to religious tourists.

Under such arrangements, private investors may finance and operate infrastructure in exchange for commercial returns, potentially including toll collections and revenue from associated facilities.

However, the proposed investment structure remains unclear. Pakistan has yet to publicly disclose the project’s estimated cost, financing requirements, concession terms or anticipated returns for investors.

Commercial viability presents another challenge. Investors would need credible projections of highway traffic, pilgrim arrivals and tourism revenue before committing substantial capital.

The project could also face complications involving land acquisition, construction costs and the coordination of highway development with religious tourism infrastructure.

Despite repeated announcements since January, no confirmed construction commencement date or completion timetable has been announced.

Significantly, at a separate government review earlier this month, officials described the expressway as still under consideration.

The latest announcement therefore signals Pakistan’s continued efforts to attract diaspora investment rather than confirmation that financing has been secured or construction is underway.

Whether the project advances will depend on detailed feasibility assessments, transparent investment terms and the government’s ability to attract investors willing to undertake its financial and operational risks.