Reducing cost: Ring Road project under review

[Salman]

LAHORE:
The Lahore Ring Road Authority (LRRA) is considering dropping several auxiliary projects of Lahore Ring Road to reduce the construction cost of Southern Loop, The Express Tribune has learnt.
Southern Loop 1 from the Defence Housing Authority (where Package 17 of Northern Loop ends) to Ferozepur Road will be 9.35-kilometre-long. Southern Loop Package 2 is from Gajju Mata on Ferozepur Road to Adda Plot. It is 13-Km-long. Southern Loop Package 3 from Adda Plot to Multan Road (Maraka) is eight kilometres long.
LRRA officials said changes in the project design would slash the cost of constructing Southern Loop.
Officials, who spoke to The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity, said China Estate, the construction company, had been trying to get the contract from the LRRA to construct Southern Loop.
China Estate officials met the Lahore commissioner a couple of months ago who is also LRRA chairman. The company offered to construct three loops of Lahore Ring Road for Rs29 billion, they said.
The lowest bid received from a local company (in September 2013) was Rs42 billion.
An LRRA official said China Estate would have to formally bid for the project. He said the decision to call for fresh bids had not been taken yet.
He said the LRRA did not have the authority to award the contract to China Estate. He said the mode of construction, too, was yet to be decided. To reduce the cost of the project, he said the LRRA was considering removing the 30-metre metro corridor.
The official said the authority had also halted the plan to construct service lanes. He said the LRRA had cancelled plans to construct various offices of the authority along Ring Road. It will also not install an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). He said the LRRA was also considering removing interchanges from less populated areas. Electronic tolling will also be deferred.
The official said the LRRA had earlier decided to construct commercial zones alongside the Southern Loop.
The earlier estimated cost of Rs42 billion included the ITS, a metro corridor and service lanes.
The cost of acquisition land stands at Rs17 billion, down from Rs25 billion.
LLRA Finance Director Shehzad Aziz Khan said the authority had been considering various options to reduce the cost of the project. He said LRRA officials hoped to meet the chief minister soon. He said commercial areas had been given to the LDA as LRRA did not have the right to develop such facilities. He said he was unaware about China Estate offers.
China Estate Contracts Director Omer Daniyal refused to comment.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 3rd, 2014.