ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Monday moved up the deadline for two mega road projects – Serena Chowk on Khayaban-i-Suharwardi and PTCL Chowk on 9th Avenue – and directed the contractors to complete the task within 100 days instead of the six-month target set in the PC-I.

The minister chaired a meeting to review the two projects in which he reduced the deadline for the completion of these schemes.

Sources said that the interior minister directed the contractors to complete the Serena Chowk project in 60 days and the PTCL project in 100 days. The deadline for the PTCL Chowk project was set at 100 days because an overhead bridge is also part of that project.

Sources said the representatives of the Serena project said that they could complete this project in 60 days. Under this project, three underpasses (two on Srinagar Highway and one on Khyaban-i-Suharwardi) plus some loops are to be constructed.

The projects whose bids were approved earlier this month are likely to have their ground-breaking ceremonies on November 5. Sources said the minister might inaugurate the Expressway the same day (Nov 5) if the Capital Development Authority managed to finish the project by that time. It is relevant to note here expressway project is almost completed and only minor work is pending.

During the meeting, the minister authorised the interior secretary to hold a meeting with all stakeholders on Tuesday to ensure the timely shifting of service lines from the alignment of both project sites. The meeting was told that for the Serena project, the CDA had issued cheques to utility companies to move their lines while it will likely issue cheques for the PTCL Chowk today.

Sources said that the interior minister informed CDA Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa that these two projects were the priority projects and sought their timely completion.

On October 8, CDA opened financial bids, receiving bids of Rs4.2 billion for the Serena project and Rs4.1 billion for the PTCL Chowk.

Initially, three firms submitted technical bids, out of which one was disqualified for not meeting the stringent criteria formulated by the civic agency. Out of the two, Habib Construction Services won the Serena project while Maakson Engineering Corporation won the PTCL Chowk project. However, both companies’ bids exceeded the cost mentioned in the tender.

Officials said the notice inviting tender (NIT) cost of the Serena project was Rs4.086 billion but the CDA received the lowest bid of Rs4.24 billion from Habib Construction Services (HCS) – 3.9 per cent above the NIT cost.

While, Maakson Engineering Corporation submitted a bid worth Rs4.310 billion, 5.5pc above the NIT cost. For the PTCL Chowk, Maakson submitted a Rs4.1 billion bid, 9.9pc above the NIT cost of Rs3.7 billion. While, Habib Construction Services submitted a bid of Rs4.14 billion, 11pc above the NIT cost.

It is relevant to note that these two sites are a source of constant traffic jams, particularly during peak hours. The CDA had been making announcements for the past several years to resolve this issue, but these could not translate into reality.

The Serena project was set to begin last year but at the eleventh hour, then-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, under the new project, the CDA received the lowest bid of Rs4.2 billion, almost double the Railcop bid.

Dawn asked an official about this financial loss. The CDA official claimed that the project’s design was “massively changed” this time and additional work was also added. He claimed due to these changes the new bid was justified.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2024