ISLAMABAD: Surprisingly, harsh criteria kept most construction companies away from participating in the bidding process of two new major projects - the construction of Serena Interchange on Khayaban-i-Suhrawardi and PTCL Chowk - on the junction of Jinnah Avenue and 9th Avenue.

According to sources, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) received bids from only three contractors for both projects. The firms are Maaksons, Habib Construction Company and a joint venture (JV) of Maqool and Colson.

Currently, the CDA is evaluating the technical bids before opening financial bids, which are likely to be opened next week. According to the civic body, they had set a tough criteria for construction companies as they wanted to complete these projects in the shortest time possible. Sources said due to the harsh criteria majority of the construction firms did not apply.

The CDA set a 100 marks qualification process where 25 marks were set for those which completed similar type of projects within 100 days during the last five years in Pakistan with a minimum cost of Rs1,500 million. Similarly, according to bidding documents, 10 marks were set for those which completed such projects with a minimum value of Rs1,500 million during the last five years.

Additionally, five marks were for those companies which have a current commitment of a similar nature of project having a worth of Rs3,000 million or above. Sources said because of these 40 marks, majority of the construction companies avoided participating in the bidding process.

Sources said that besides these three firms, the National Logistics Corporation (NLC) and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) could have easily gotten the above-mentioned 40 marks, but they did not participate in the bidding process. Therefore, the said three companies are now in the race for both projects.

“Yes, we received bids of three companies including a JV for both projects. Technical bids had been opened and soon we will open financial bids,” said an officer of the CDA.

Recently, the CDA approved PC-I for two mega projects worth over Rs8 billion. The projects were underpasses on Srinagar Highway and Khayaban-i-Suhrawardi as well as three loops worth Rs4.56 billion.

Meanwhile, PC-I says that the project for construction of an underpass and flyover at the junction of Jinnah Avenue and 9th Avenue near F-8 sector was worth Rs3.9 billion.

Both projects would be completed in six months. These two sites are sources of constant traffic jams, particularly during rush hours.

The CDA has been making announcements for several years, however, work on these projects could not start.

A couple of months ago, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had directed the CDA to start the two projects as soon as possible. The Serena Interchange project was set to begin last year but at the eleventh hour, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (during the PDM government) refused to inaugurate it. He had sought the credentials of Railcop, which had won the project because of its lowest bid of Rs2.1 billion. Now, the PC-I of the new project is worth Rs4.5 billion along with a new design and additional works.

It may be noted that traffic from different routes, including Constitution Avenue, Khayaban-i-Suhrawardi, Club Road (Murree Road), Srinagar Highway and Ataturk Avenue converge on this intersection (Serena Interchange), leading to congestion during peak hours.

Similarly, during peak hours on PTCL Chowk, commuters have to wait for a long time at the traffic signal.

The officials said that the civic agency had allocated funds for these two projects in the budget for this fiscal year and CDA will execute these projects through its own funding.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2024