No money, more problems: Forget new projects, CDA can’t even pay for old ones

Penniless civic agency’s ongoing projects discussed in Senate; grim picture painted.


Waqas Naeem November 17, 2012

ISLAMABAD:


Funds are being arranged.


This is what the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is doing to resolve the problems it is facing in completing four out of five ongoing projects related to roads and bridges, the Senate was told on Thursday.

The projects are scheduled for completion between late 2012 and mid-2013, according to information provided by the Cabinet Division. The information was released in response to a question raised by Senator Mir Wali Muhammad Badini in October.

Three of the five projects have start dates in 2011, while the other two started in 2012.

The dualisation of Service Road North in sectors I-10 and I-11 was supposed to be completed by October 26, 2012 — almost a month ago.

The Rs70.7m project ran into problems due to “inadequate funding under self-financing”, and some existing electricity poles which are delaying construction, according to information from the Cabinet Division.

CDA spokesperson Ramzan Sajid confirmed that the project has experienced issues due to the shifting of electricity poles and civil works. He said the matters are being resolved and the project will be completed with a slight delay.

The construction of Kashmir Highway’s first and second phases, with estimated agreement costs of Rs1.65 billion and Rs1.7 billion respectively, has to be completed by February 2013, but the project has run into trouble due to the CDA’s financial crunch.

Similarly, the construction of Margalla Avenue from the Grand Trunk Road to Sector D-12 is facing funding issues.

Possession problems and the presence of a graveyard on the route of the proposed road also added to the project’s misfortune. The CDA’s planning wing is revising the alignment of the road, while the half-a-billion rupees required for the project are being arranged, the cabinet division informed the Senate.

Even if it evicts the Afghan katchi abadi, the CDA might not be able to develop Sectors I-11/1 and I-11/2 by May 2013 because of its cash flow woes.

However, Sajid maintained that financial troubles have not completely shut down any projects.

“None of the development projects have stopped,” he said. “Some of them slowed down because of financial conditions and other problems, but we are trying to manage the resources and to expedite the projects.”

Sajid added the CDA will put in “maximum” efforts to complete the projects by the scheduled completion date.

But on-time completion of these projects would depend on CDA’s finances.

The cash-strapped civic agency tried raising some money in the summer of 2012, but its non-transparent pre-qualification process for bidding on commercial plots did not get too far. The prime minister halted the bidding process in August and an inquiry into the affair led to a change in the CDA’s top management.

Under new CDA chairman Tahir Shahbaz, the civic agency is once again gearing up to auction commercial plots in the Blue Area extension, albeit with an open auction procedure this time. The CDA is also attempting to regularise its revenue generation and trying to close any loopholes that cause excess expenditure, Sajid said.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if all these efforts would yield the Rs4.2 billion required to complete the ongoing projects.

Projects under consideration by the CDA for the future:

Roads

Construction of the 11th Avenue

Extension of the 7th Avenue

Widening of IJ Principal Road

Widening of Islamabad Highway from Koral Chowk to Rawat

Bridges

Interchange at Peshawar Mor at intersection of 9th Avenue and Kashmir Highway

Interchange of 7th Avenue at intersection with Khayaban-e Suhrwardi and Kashmir Highway

Interchange at 9th Avenue at intersection with IJ Principal Road

Interchange at Jinnah Avenue at intersection with 9th Avenue

(Source: cabinet division response to the senate in question hour)

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17th, 2012.

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