PQA awaits ministry approval for cricket stadium project
ISLAMABAD: The Port Qasim Authority (PQA) is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs for awarding a contract for the construction of a cricket stadium at its housing complex in Karachi.
Sources in the PQA told Dawn on Thursday that all arrangements had been finalised for launching the project and work would begin after the ministry’s approval.
“We are waiting for the approval letter from the ministry before starting work as the tendering process has already been completed,” a PQA source said.
The sources said Maritime Affairs Minister Mohammad Junaid Anwar, while chairing a recent meeting of the PQA, had directed the authority to start the project without further delay, arguing that there was no justification for holding it up after completion of the bidding process.
Following the minister’s directions, the PQA secretary, through an official letter dated Aug 19, requested the ministry to accord final approval to the project.
The letter said the PQA board, in its meeting held on Aug 17, had approved awarding the contract to M/s Glamour Construction, the lowest and most advantageous bidder, at a cost of Rs52.64 million.
The ministry was requested to accord “approval/specification sanction under … PQA Act, 1973” for awarding the project to the most advantageous (lowest) bidder.
The response from the ministry is awaited.
PQA officials said the authority would issue the work order immediately after receiving the ministry’s approval, allowing construction to begin.
Sources said the project had already faced delays. The PQA had floated tenders in January, while financial bids from three construction firms were opened in May following evaluation of their technical bids.
M/s Glamour Construction emerged as the lowest bidder with a bid of around Rs52m against the estimated project cost of Rs60m.
The project will be executed in two phases, with work on the first phase expected to begin after the ministry’s approval. The second phase will be taken up at a later stage through fresh tenders, officials said.