Long past its deadline: Park Enclave still caught up in paperwork

CDA’s Engineering Wing submits PC-I for housing scheme; work to start soon.

ISLAMABAD:

Long past its deadline, it looks like the capital’s civic agency may overshoot the new one it has set itself for the development of Park Enclave, once publicised as a prized housing project. Located along Park Road, the scheme was supposed to have been developed by last December, but the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is still caught up in the paperwork.

The Engineering Wing of the civic agency has recently submitted the PC-I, according to which the estimated cost for developing the housing project is Rs3.7 billion, for approval from CDA-Development Working Party (CDA-DWP), The Express Tribune has learnt.

Prior to its final approval by CDA-DWP, the PC-I will be vetted by CDA’s planning and finance wings. “After incorporating input from the two wings, the PC-I will be presented before CDA’s technical committee comprising the CDA chairman, board members and the relevant directors general. After clearance, it will be presented to the CDA-DWP for final approval,” said an official of the Engineering Wing.



CDA Chairman Tahir Shahbaz termed the development a major breakthrough in terms of developing the housing project, which has seen a number of setbacks. “Although the PC-I was delayed, it’s still an achievement. Hopefully, it will get through CDA-DWP within a week,” he said. “In the absence of a PC-I, the agency was unable to make payments to the contractor building the boundary wall of Park Enclave.” Once it’s approved, CDA will expedite development work, he added.

Contrary to the CDA chairman’s claim, a senior official of the Engineering Wing said the authority would only be able develop infrastructure of the project by the end of December, owing to the technicalities involved, if progress continues at the pace claimed by Shahbaz. “Infrastructure development constitutes around 55 per cent of the total project,” the official added. The revised deadline for developing the housing project is December 2013.

In October 2011, National Engineering Services Paksitan (Nespak) which was hired by CDA as consultant firm for the project had estimated Rs4.7 billion as the cost for the project’s PC-I. However, following the Cabinet Division’s objection to the fact that Nespak was hired on the basis of a single tender without making the process competitive, city managers reversed the work initiated by Nespak in its capacity as the consultant for the Park Enclave project.

Nespak had also pre-qualified four firms for development of Park Enclave on a design and build basis. Financial and technical bids were sought from these firms, however, none of the firms qualified for the project. According to CDA rules, technical evaluation is given 80 per cent weightage, while financial evaluation adds 20 per cent to the total score, but specifically for the Park Enclave project, financial evaluation was given 30 per cent weightage, because the financial aspect constituted an important component.

Nespak informed CDA that not a single firm had succeeded in passing the technical evaluation. This forced the CDA to withdraw the idea of executing the project on a design and build basis and it was decided to opt for the conventional method in accordance with CDA rules. Once the PC-I is approved, interested firms will be asked submit bids for the project as in the past.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2013.