Islamabad: Faisal Avenue Flyover contractor likely to miss another deadline

[Naveed Yaseen]

Islamabad
The much-delayed Faisal Avenue Flyover is likely to miss another deadline, following a row between the Capital Development Authority and contractor over cost escalation, in sheer violation of the contract agreement and directives of the Steering Committee on Islamabad Development Package.

The unnecessary delay in the completion of the project is not only causing inconvenience for the commuters, but also becoming a burden for the authority due to repeated extension in deadlines of the project and latest one in this regard is January 15, which is just two-week ahead.

Chairman Steering Committee on Islamabad Development Package Dr Zaheeruddin Babar Awan had also stressed the contractor firm M/s Matracon to complete the project, without any further extension in the deadline or escalation in the cost.

He described extension and escalation, as burden on national kitty and the people of the country, adding that the project, after completion should not look different from the design and beautification, as shown in the presentation.

During that meeting, the representative of the contractor firm had told the chairman of the Committee that almost 85 per cent of the work has already been completed while the rest would be completed within the stipulated time.

Earlier, under the initial agreement, the project was to incur about Rs815 million, but it mounted to about Rs1 billion after the CDA provided escalation to the contractor owing to price hike of steel and other construction material.

The contractor is yet to complete work on slip roads as well as flyover unlikely to complete on deadline while the finishing and electrification of the road is yet to think about.

According to a senior CDA official, the contractor has told the Authority about the delay of couple of months and that too, if the Authority pays another escalation in labour cost and construction material.

He said some of the demands put forward by the contractor are reasonable and justified while some are unjustified and contrary to rules and regulations, adding that the authority may consider reasonable demand of contractor.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=155073