Work on Malal Bridge will begin soon: CDA

Lowest bid was 22% lower than the estimated cost

ISLAMABAD:

The civic authority of the federal capital hopes that work on the construction of the Malal Bridge on Lehtarar Road will commence soon as the financial bids for the project have been opened.

Officials of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) said that it had received bids from construction firms for the project. The NIT of the project was Rs100.818 million, however, due to healthy competition, it received the lowest bid worth Rs70 million, which is 22 per cent less than its estimated cost.

Apart from the bridge, the project also includes the construction of 700-metre section of a dual road near PINSTEC. The project is expected to be completed within 12 months.

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This is the second development project launched by the CDA on Lehtarar Road. Earlier, the authority had started construction on the Burma Bridge, with the project said to be in the final stages.

Lehtarar Road was dualised in 2007-08 however two important bridges, the Burma Bridge and Malal Bridge, were not built at the time, causing congestion for traffic, creating a problem for locals.

Subsequently, residents of the area demanded the construction of both bridges. Work on Burma Bridge began earlier in 2020 while now it has initiated the process for constructing the Malal Bridge.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2020.