Kashmir Highway widening: CDA’s cash-crunch hinders work on mega project

Over Rs1 billion needed for the project this year, but only Rs60 million released.

ISLAMABAD:

Though the incumbent management of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) claims it has overcome long-running financial  issues, the situation on  the ground tells a different story.

As the financial year 2012-13 approaches its final quarter, the authority has only released a mere Rs60 million against the promised Rs1.2 billion for the widening of Kashmir Highway.

Under the project,
the Authority would construct additional lanes on the existing Kashmir Highway from Peshawar Mor to GT Road.

The Rs2.192 billion PC-I of the project which was approved in November 2007 has already been exhausted, and now the authority has been striving to get a revised PC-I passed, the cost for which has been worked out at Rs4.857 billion.

History of the project

The road widening project, termed a “lifeline for the city” by town planners, was initiated back in 2007 to provide easy access to traffic coming from Lahore and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and to open a new link between the capital and the new airport.



The project was originally to be taken up in three contract packages --- Package-I was from Peshawar Mor to Golra Mor, Package-II was Golra Mor to Peshawar Mor, and Package-III was from Golra Mor to GT Road.

The total length of the road project is 11.068 kilometres and it will have five lanes on each side. The project also includes the construction of three overhead bridges and three underpasses at 10th, 11th and 12th Avenues, and a 120 kilometre-per-hour speed limit.

Cost Escalation

Owing to paucity of funds, the cost of the project has escalated from Rs2.192 billion to Rs4.857 billion. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) of the Planning Commission has yet to approve the revised PC-I.  If approved, it would be referred to Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) for final approval.

“The revised PC-I was discussed in CDWP meetings twice in near past. The CDA has addressed all the observations including the provision of an environment impact assessment report. Hopefully, the revised PC-I will be approved in the next CDWP meeting,” said Kashmir Highway Project Director Rizwan.

The project’s funding was approved on 50:50 basis, with the federal government covering half of the total cost, while the other half would be self financed by the CDA.

Documents available with The Express Tribune show that for the fiscal year 2010-11, the federal government allocated Rs241 million for the project, out of which it released only Rs110 million. For 2011-12, the federal government and CDA allocated Rs291 million and Rs277 million respectively, while the actual amounts released during the same year were Rs204 million by the federal government and Rs280 million by the civic agency.

For the current fiscal year, the federal government and CDA approved Rs452 million and Rs1.2 billion respectively, but so far, the federal government and CDA have released only Rs180 million and Rs60 million respectively.

Progress on Project

On February 12, 2011, two separate firms were awarded the contracts for Package-I and Package-II. The contract amount for packages was agreed at Rs1.649 billion for Package-I and Rs1.7 billion for Package-II.

The completion date for both packages was February 11, 2013, but according to the Kashmir Highway project director, only 15 per cent of work has been completed on Package-I, and 30 per cent on Package-II.

“Inadequate funding is the sole reason for the delay. If the federal government and CDA ensured timely provision of the required funding, it could be completed within six months,” the project director said, adding that contractors are still owed over Rs150 million for work already completed. He informed that the date for the completion of both contracts has been extended till November 2013.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2013.