The Lahore Ring Road Authority (LRRA) is steaming ahead with spadework for similar projects in Multan and Sialkot but appears to be finding it difficult to get government's approval to begin work on the remaining section of the route in the provincial capital.
According to a government official, the authority has finalised the selection of transaction adviser for the projects in the two other cities. He said the letter of intent was likely to be issued next week.
The official said that if the government wanted to begin work on the new projects, it could do so in about three months. He said the transaction adviser, after signing the letter with the LRRA, would submit within three months the preliminary proposals of alignment of the two projects.
Once the preliminary proposal is finalised, the government can proceed with the land acquisition process.
The official said that the transaction adviser was required to submit the financial and technical models along with the concession agreements of the projects in six months.
The LRRA invited expression of interest (EoI) for the ring road projects in Multan and Sialkot in April.
Read Punjab govt yet to approve Ring Road project PC-1
Four companies, all joint ventures, showed interest. The technical and financial bids were sought last month.
The National Engineering Service Pakistan (Nespak), EY Ford Rhodes and Farooq, Khan & Mirza advocates & counsel were awarded the contract.
The official said the technical adviser would propose not only the alignment but also the financial model for the projects.
Interestingly, he said the LRRA was not pushing for any commercial zones alongside both ring road alignments.
He said that after the unearthing of a scam in Rawalpindi in recent months, the LRRA was not in a mood to take any risk.
The official said having the commercial zones would have been greatly beneficial in the long run, but officers of the LRRA were too scared to think on those lines. "Good deeds get punished in government," he added.
The Lahore Ring Road Authority was authorised on September 4 last year by the Public-Private Partnership Policy and Monitoring Board to take on the Multan ring road project.
The project, as per the initial paperwork, was proposed between the two bypasses of the city, northern and southern.
However, the LRRA was of the opinion that the existing bypasses were already too congested and located almost within the city.
It was proposed that the alignment of the road might be considered between the M4 motorway and the southern bypass after starting from the northern bypass via Sher Shah bypass.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2021.
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