Fresh tender likely in DREAM project

The dispute over granting the contract for Dream Project-I - aimed at supplying Rawalpindi an additional 12 million gallons of water per day - was placed before the project steering committee, marking a major development.

A decision is now likely on re-tendering the controversial Rs20.4 billion contract for Lot-II and Lot-III.

Meanwhile, a permanent deputy project director has finally been appointed for Dream Project-I.

According to sources, both lots of the ADB-funded Dream Project-I have been stuck in controversy for the past year, delaying Rawalpindi's planned additional daily supply of 12 million gallons of water from Chahan Dam.

However, work is progressing rapidly on the contract that aims to provide Rawalpindi an extra 5 million gallons per day from Rawal Dam and Khanpur Dam.

In this regard, a meeting of the Project Steering Committee was held under the chairmanship of the P&D chief. Punjab Secretary Local Government Shakeel Ahmed Mian, ADB Mission members Haikuro Shoji, Shaukat Shafi, Ahmed Malik, officers of the Local Government Department including Shahid Latif, DPD Dreams Salman Usman, DPD PICIIP Mudassir Afzal, SOCD officials and others were present.

The meeting reviewed the progress on supplying water to Rawalpindi under Dream Project-I and agreed that coordination between the ADB and the local government would be ensured for project implementation.

Different aspects of re-tendering the contract for Lot-II and Lot-III were discussed. The decision will soon be finalised and announced. Meanwhile, the Secretary of Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Department Punjab, has issued the notification appointing Grade-19 officer Sohail Aslam Sindhu as the permanent Deputy Project Director for direct supervision of Dream Project-I in Rawalpindi.