Manghopir Road project caught in KE-KIDCL row

Power utility demands Rs50 million for relocation of infrastructure


Syed Ashraf Ali July 17, 2019
PHOTO: ONLINE

KARACHI: The fate of the Manghopir Road project is in jeopardy due to the ongoing legal wrangling between K-Electric and the Karachi Infrastructure Development Company Limited (KIDCL), a federal entity responsible for the development work.

The project became a bone of contention between the Karachi-based power supply company and the federal body when the latter decided to remove and relocate power cables and other infrastructure without informing the supplier. The move caused power outages in the area. Subsequently, K-Electric filed a petition against KIDCL, bringing the project to a grinding halt.

Last year, under the Karachi package, the federal government initiated the reconstruction work of the dilapidated Manghopir Road at a whopping price tag of Rs. 2.4 billion.  Out of the total allocated funds for the project, Rs.1.7 billion were reserved for the relocation of utility lines.

"K-Electric repeatedly requested concerned KIDCL authorities for details about the Manghopir Road project but information was not provided," spokesperson for the power supplier claimed. "We approached the Sindh High Court for a stay order when power supply was disrupted in the area due to the construction work," he claimed.

K-Electric is demanding Rs.50 million for the transfer of high tension lines, power cables and other infrastructure, a demand that KIDCL officials say is unreasonable.

"KIDCL is willing to fulfill K-Electric's demands if they are realistic," a KIDCL official said while speaking on the condition of anonymity.  "We are spending 50% of the project funds on transfer of utility lines in the project route." "During the construction process, water, sewerage, gas pipelines and power cables have been affected," he admitted.

This is not the first time the power supplier and KIDCL have clashed over a construction project. The two were at odds over disrupted power supplies during work on the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit Project.

Commenting on the situation, KIDCL Chief Finance Officer Zubair Channa said efforts were being made to resolve the dispute.  "We've paid Rs310 million to K-Electric for shifting the high tension lines and cables during the construction of the Green Line Bus Project," Channa claimed.

"If K-Electric makes a justifiable demand we are still willing to fulfill it," he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17th, 2019.

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