PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE: Following a go-ahead from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Steering Committee, the Punjab government has finally invited proposals from interested parties to complete the final loop of Ring Road.
Official documents, made available to The Express Tribune, show that the Lahore Ring Road Authority (LRRA) has invited proposals for the construction of SL-III – an 8-kilometre long, six-lane high-speed corridor. The project will be completed on a public-private Partnershippmode in accordance with the Punjab PPP Act, 2014.
The documents highlight that the northern loop of Lahore Ring Road – about 40 kilometres in length – has already been completed by the provincial government through its own resources, whereas the 22-kilometre portion of the southern loop (I&II) has been completed on a PPP-build operate transfer (BOT) mode.
The criteria set for interested parties included that interested firms should have relevant experience and be registered with the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) in the ‘No Limit’ category.
As per the documents, the firm shall be responsible for everything between detailed engineering to operation and maintenance of the SL-III under BOT model of 25 years concession period.
A pre-bid meeting has been scheduled for the interested parties on May 28, while the final date for submission of proposals is fixed on June 13.
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An estimate prepared by the National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) showed that an increase of around 12% has already occurred in the cost of the project owing to delayed execution.
NESPAK had estimated in January that the SL-III project would cost Rs8.95 billion. However, now this project will cost around Rs10 billion if the government succeeds in attracting investors.
The PPP Steering Committee had approved the SL-III project last month. It was estimated that the road would be constructed in one year with the help of private partners. The decision was taken in a meeting of the steering committee at the Planning and Development (P&D) Complex under the chairmanship of Punjab Minister for Finance Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht.
The Lahore Ring Road has originally conceived some 25 years ago and a few studies were carried out on it over this period. The road, touted as an alternative transport route to ease the traffic load within the city, was designed and redesigned with a few alterations, keeping in view the political and economic interests of many in the ruling party.
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In 1991, the Japan International Cooperation Agency proposed a road-loop in the city and the World Bank prepared a feasibility report on a 60-kilometre ring road. In 1995, the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) presented its ring road scheme. At that time, Daewoo and other foreign companies had signed a memorandum of understanding with the authority.
In 2003, former president Pervez Musharraf directed the Punjab government to implement the project when he inspected the FC College and The Mall underpasses in 2003. The Lahore Ring Road project was launched on December 22, 2004, at a ground-breaking ceremony that Musharraf attended.
In 2005, the Constriction and Works (C&W) Department awarded the task to NESPAK for alignment study with objectives to alleviate congestion on radial arterials, improve the operation of critical intersection in the provincial capital and reduce overall travel time along with city network.
Later, following completion of northern loop of the Lahore Ring Road, the C&W Department awarded the project of Southern Loop Feasibility Study and Selection of Route to the NESPAK in December 2007. However, the project could not be initiated due to financial constraints until 2015. Subsequently, this was approved once again in 2016 and the construction of southern loop began August 2016.
The completion from Kamahan to Adda plot was announced by the provincial government in December 2017 and former chief minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the project on December 22, 2017.
The completion of the southern loop will dramatically reduce travel time in the provincial capital. Especially, commercial and residential areas, DHA, Sui Gas Housing Society, Eden Park, State Life Housing Society, Eden Gardens, Valencia, Khayaban-e-Amin, Lake City, AWT Scheme, Fazaia Housing Scheme and Bahria Town, will benefit the most from this project.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2019.
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