ISLAMABAD: The fate of the long-awaited project aimed at reducing contamination in Rawal Dam ­­­­­-- the main water supplier to the garrison city - still hangs in the balance as the Planning Commission and Capital Development Authority (CDA) have still not decided how to move forward after the expiry of the bid validity period last year.

Under the project, the CDA was supposed to install three sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the dam’s catchment area to stop the flow of contaminated water into the reservoir. However, the project, whose estimated cost is Rs3.9 billion, could not take off on technical grounds.

The CDA had called bids, which were opened in July last year, but the contract could not be awarded within the stipulated time. As a result, the bid’s validity time expired and after that no step was taken to initiate the project.

Plants were to be built in lower Shahdara, Bari Imam and near Banigala. In the absence of these plants, untreated sewage from unplanned localities in the catchment areas flowed into Rawal Dam.

It may be pointed out here that whenever this project is started, it would require 14 months to complete and will treat 9.6 million gallons of untreated water daily.

According to CDA officials, the PC-I was prepared on the direction of the Planning Commission as an engineering procurement and construction (EPC) mode project, which meant that its design and engineering would be handled by an EPC contractor.

They said after awarding the tender, the civic body was supposed to get the revised PC-I’s approval from the Planning Commission. However, an objection was raised by the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA), which said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project had not been carried out. In the meantime, the bid’s validity period expired.

Sources in the CDA said the civic agency approached the Planning Commission through the interior ministry a couple of months ago with a request to guide it on how to move forward with the project.

In its letter, the CDA had informed the Planning Commission that if the project was carried out through the EPC mode, the EIA would not be conducted. It said under the EPC mode, the contractor was supposed to prepare the project’s design and the EIA could not be carried out without the design.

The CDA, in its second proposal, requested the Planning Commission to allow it to carry out the project without the EPC mode so that the civic body could get the environment assessment impact conducted before the contract was awarded.

“Both organisations – Planning Commission and CDA – are in touch with each other over the issue and once the civic body gives its presentation, the Planning Commission would announce its decision. We want to carry out this project without the EPC mode; let’s see what the commission decides,” said an officer of the CDA.

He said once the Planning Commission gave a go-ahead, the CDA would restart the tendering process.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2022