LPC officials said Managing Director Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf had yet to ratify the technical evaluation. PHOTO: FILE
The Lahore Parking Company (LPC) will be handed over the charge of more than 200 parking lots in the city by the city government on July 1 but has yet to make arrangements to outsource their operation, The Express Tribune has learnt.
Agreements with contractors currently managing the parking lots will expire on June 30. The LPC called for bids on April 16, but is yet to decide which company to grant the contract to. The LPC had 60 days to grant the contract to one of the bidders. UCS, a Turkish company, Saudi company Advanced Global Communication Networks and a joint venture of Mansha Brothers and a foreign company had submitted bids for the parking lots on April 16. The award is to be decided by June 15. LPC officials said Works and Service EDO Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf, who also holds the additional post of LPC managing director, had yet to ratify the technical evaluation.
They said the date of awarding the contract would have to be extended for a couple of weeks. They also said the company would likely have a new managing director.
Around 180 parking lots out of 354 are operational. The public facilities district officer has already transferred control of around 27 self-collection parking lots out of 80 to the LPC. The administrative control of 90 parking lots being operated by contractors has been transferred to the LPC. Their operational control would be transferred on June 30.
Understaffed
According to city government officials, around 450 officials were required to manage these parking lots. Apart from managerial staff, the LPC has 30 officials running 27 parking lots.
Company officials said they would engage a human resource company to recruit more staff. They said the LPC MD had been requested to hire an HR company, but he told the staff to wait till a new MD was appointed.
Out of options
The company will have to look for other options to manage these parking lots. According to well placed sources, the LPC had requested the public facilities district officer to take charge of these parking lots but the request was turned down.
LPC Media Manager Fasiuddin said the staffing problem would be rectified soon. LPC MD Ashraf, when asked about the delay in the assessment of bids, declined comment saying he only had additional charge of the company’s affairs.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 9th, 2013.
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