NLC wins a contract for Pindi section of Metro Bus Project

[Salman]

NLC wins a contract for Pindi section of Metro Bus Project

RAWALPINDI: Three firms were selected to build the Rawalpindi part of the Metro Bus Project when bids for the works were opened on Monday, but the army-run National Logistics Cell (NLC) won the best deal.

Its bid of Rs4.71 billion for one of the three sections of an elevated road to be built from Flashman’s Hotel to Faizabad, was accepted by the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) although it was nominally above the official offer of Rs4.7 billion for the job.

Of the other two winners, ZKB bid was Rs600 million less than the official offer of Rs5.3 billion and the Lemark-Reliabale joint venture’s was Rs200 million less than the official Rs3.7 billion.

District Coordination Officer Sajid Zafar Dall, who presided over the scrutiny of the bids, said that NLC’s bid was comparatively lower than other firms.

“There is no need to re-invite any more bids for this section as it is some million higher than the official estimates,” he told Dawn.

Nine firms were vying for the three contracts in the bidding process, held for the second time because of the objections raised by the Chinese firm CGRF to the first processing held in February.

However, the CGRF found itself ousted again as it failed to produce the Pakistan Engineering Council’s certificate that it was a Category A firm.

Another army-run firm, the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), also was in the run but lost the race because its bids were higher. Interestingly, the FWO entered the bid when it had abandoned the contract awarded to it to rebuild the burnt out Madressah Taleemul Quran in the city on the plea that it was busy in Balochistan.

NLC won the contract for the Committee Chowk to 6th Road section of the elevated road over the Benazir Bhutto Road. It is the first contract in Rawalpindi that NLC got through proper bidding. In the past the provincial government awarded it contracts for three flyovers worth about Rs4 billion without calling any bids for the jobs.

At present it is working on widening the Marrir Chowk Railway Bridge for Rs550 million.

A RDA officer, requesting anonymity, confirmed to Dawn that the provincial government is yet to acquire land for the construction of bus stations in thickly populated area from Committee Chowk to 6th Road and needed a ‘powerful’ contractor for the purpose.

Bids for the Rawalpindi part of the Metro Bus Project were opened at RDA office in the presence of District Coordination Officer Sajid Zafar Dall, RDA Chief Engineer Asghar Warraich, Lahore Development Authority Chief Engineer Israr Ahmed, Nespak representative Suhail Sulhari and Works and Communication Executive Engineer Mohammad Haider.

ZKB won the contract for Package A of the project that is Flashman’s Hotel to Committee Chowk section, NLC for Package B, from Committee Chowk to 6th Road, and Lemak-Reliable joint venture for Package C from 6th Road to Faizabad.

DCO Dall said that in the next two days the RDA will ask the contractors to start moving their machinery and equipment to the work sites and formal work will start from March 27.

“It is not violating any rules. According to PEPRA rule, the work order is issued after 10 days of the bidding,” he said. Though acknowledging that land acquisition for bus stations would take two months, the DCO said it would not affect the construction work of elevated road from Saddar to Faizabad.

DCO Dall said the process of prequalification for the firms for Islamabad section of the Rs23.9 billion metro bus project would start soon.