Islamabad: Faisal Flyover construction to miss January 15 deadline

[Naveed Yaseen]

* CDA had given the contractor the deadline to complete work but even the slip lanes are not ready so far

By Imran Naeem Ahmad
ISLAMABAD: The ‘sick’ Faisal Avenue Flyover project is expected to miss another deadline.

A Capital Development Authority (CDA) official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Daily Times on Monday that the project’s progress was painfully slow. He, however, said the authority was unable to part ways with him at this stage.

The CDA had given the contractor the January 15 deadline to complete work but so far, not even the slip lanes are ready.

The official said he thought by the given deadline, at least three of the exit lanes might be completed.

He said one of the lanes – towards the Citi Bank side would require more time because of its deep curve.

The project’s underpasses were opened to traffic in October and that too after the CDA itself jumped in to do the carpeting work. The actual flyover still remains incomplete though.

The official said the contractor was financially stuck for the rates quoted by him were not ‘workable’. “The escalation in cost of construction material compounded his problems,” he said.

Despite all hiccups the project faces, CDA Chairman Tariq Mehmood Khan visited the site last week and directed the contractor to speed up. The pace, however, remained unchanged.

Work on this project on the Faisal Avenue – among the busiest roads in the capital had begun more than a year ago.

Meanwhile, the CDA is continuing with its pre-qualification process for making the Lethrar Road a dual carriageway and the Garden Avenue besides the construction of the 11th Avenue.

“We’ve constituted teams for physical verification of the equipment etc of the contractors who are bidding,” the CDA official said.

On the other hand, the newly completed Islamabad Expressway is still awaiting a nod from the Prime Minister, who is likely to formally inaugurate the road. “We have sent in a request in this regard,” he said.

The Expressway, which is eight kilometers in length on one side, is the CDA’s third major road project after the successful completion of the 7th and 9th Avenues.

The expansion of the road has been done at a cost of Rs 877 million in a record time of eight months, a feat that has been achieved more because of it being a VIP route more than anything else.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...008_pg11_8