ISLAMABAD: The mega projects to streamline traffic at two important junctions — Serena Chowk on Khayaban-i-Suharwardi and PTCL Chowk on 9th Avenue — are likely to kick off later this month after the Capital Development Agency opened financial bids on Tuesday, receiving bids of Rs4.2 billion for the Serena interchange and Rs4.1 billion for the PTCL Chowk.

The work will formally commence after the issuance of work orders to the lowest bidders. Initially, three firms had 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 interchange project while Maakson Engineering Corporation won the PTCL Chowk project. However, both companies’ bids exceeded the cost mentioned in the tender.

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

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. Habib Construction Services submitted a bid of Rs4.14 billion, 11pc above the NIT cost.

Habib Construction Services wins Serena interchange project; Maakson awarded PTCL Chowk project

Sources in the CDA said that both projects were the priority for the civic agency and that work would be started soon after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation conference in Islamabad on October 15 and 16.

“We will now place the bids before the CDA chairman for formal approval before the issuance of the work orders; hopefully, work will be started any time this month,” said a CDA deputy director.

The CDA opened the technical bids on August 12 but financial bids were opened after more than 40 days, giving rise to speculations that the CDA was in no hurry to start the projects despite the initial enthusiasm.

Once started, these two projects will be completed in six months. 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 the incumbent management finally took the initiative.

The Serena Interchange 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 the CDA has received the lowest bid of Rs4.2 billion, almost double the Railcop bid.

Dawn asked an official about this financial loss. The CDA official responded 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. The officials said that the civic agency had allocated funds for these two projects in the budget for this fiscal year and would execute these projects through its funds.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2024