Kashmir Chowk underpass work likely to begin after Sept 27
ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is all set to start construction of the Kashmir Chowk underpass, with groundbreaking expected after Sept 27.
“Bid of the project worth Rs1.4 billion has been accepted and soon work will be started,” said a CDA officer, adding that construction would formally begin after Sept 27.
Last month, the CDA opened technical bids submitted by two construction firms, Habib Construction Services (HCS) and MS Kamran Khan (Kundi Group). The authority declared one of the firms non-responsive during the technical evaluation.
The financial bid of the remaining bidder, HCS, was subsequently opened. It was Rs1.45bn against the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) cost of Rs1.486bn.
“The bid has been accepted and work has been started for clearing and grubbing, besides traffic diversion planning and utility service shifting. Formal construction will be started after groundbreaking, which is expected after Sept 27 (after the PTI protest),” an official said.
According to the bidding document, the project is to be completed in 90 days. However, sources said the work was expected to be completed within two months on a fast-track basis, citing HCS’s completion of several other CDA projects during the last two years.
Under the project, the CDA will construct an underpass at Kashmir Chowk on Murree Road, commonly known as Dhokri Chowk, near Islamabad Club.
Traffic travelling towards Rawalpindi from the Serena side will use the underpass, while the roof of the underpass will be used by vehicles travelling towards Murree.
“We are hopeful this project will be completed before its deadline. Its design was finalised by a dedicated team of Nespak (Lahore). The construction firm which won this tender is one of the best and known for completing work in a short time, while the bid price is also good,” an official said.
He added that it was now the responsibility of CDA management to complete the project within the bid price, as the civic agency had in the past extended several projects beyond their original costs.
“Fifteen per cent increase in the scope of any work is permissible under PPRA rules, but that is only for urgent and unavoidable work. There should be no increase beyond the bid price and there should be no additional work in any CDA project, because such changes always raise questions,” the official said.
Currently, two other mega projects are being executed by other construction firms.
During the last two years, the CDA completed several major development projects, including the Serena Chowk interchange, Murree Road underpass, T-Chowk flyover, Shaheen Chowk underpass and F-8 interchange.
Meanwhile, sources said the civic agency was also planning to launch the 11th Avenue project in the near future.
The fate of the stalled 10th Avenue project, however, remains undecided. The federally funded project, which is around 50pc complete, has remained unattended for the last two years due to a shortage of funds.
The CDA has attributed the delay to the non-release of funds by the federal government.
“We do agree this is a federal-funded project, but when the government is not releasing funds, CDA should take over this project and get it completed with its own funding,” said Liaqat Hussain, a resident of Sector I-10.