Road construction: ‘Private investment too expensive’

[Salman]

Road construction: ‘Private investment too expensive’

LAHORE:
The Lahore Ring Road Authority sent a letter to the Planning and Development Department last week to call a steering committee meeting to cancel bids for the construction of three loops of Lahore Ring Road in Private-Public Partnership mode due to its high cost.
The authority will also move a summary for approval to the government for land acquisition and construction of the southern loop package one, which covers a stretch of 8.5km.
The bids had been dropped on the recommendation of two committees formed by the government in December. They concluded that the PPP mode was too expensive and suggested the government look for other means of construction.
China Works and Frontier Workers Organisation had submitted their technical and financial bids on September 30.
FWO had demanded Rs13.4bn in annuity and China Works Rs16.2bn. The authority would have had to pay Rs13.4bn annually for 15 years after the completion of the project.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 5th, 2014.