Southern Loop: Bids to be invited for Ring Road construction

Four shortlisted companies have 75 days to submit bids.

LAHORE:

The Lahore Ring Road Authority has prepared a draft of a request for proposal (RFP) for the construction of three sections of the Southern Loop and plans to invite bids from today (July 16), The Express Tribune has learnt.

The RFP and a concession agreement, which details the project design, will be sent to the construction companies shortlisted by the authority, after which they will have 75 days to submit their technical and financial bids.

The Southern Loop of the Ring Road is to run from Kamahan to Thokar Niaz Beg. Package 1 of the Southern Loop would consist of 9.35km of road connecting the Ring Road to Ferozepur Road, with a construction cost of Rs18.65 billion. Package 2 from Ferozepur Road (Gajju Mata) to Adda Plot would be 13km long and cost Rs31.94 billion to build. Package 3, from Adda Plot to Maraka, would be 8km long and cost Rs13.60 billion.

The four companies short listed by the LRRA are the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), Saadullah Khan and Brothers (SKB), China Works and Turkish company Albayrak. The successful bidder will get a few months to start construction and then two years to complete the project. One year after completion, the LRRA would start paying the company back. The payment would be cleared in 14 years, at Rs12-14 billion per year.

The government is yet to finalise the design of the rest of the Southern Loop.

The LRRA had earlier planned to hold auctions for each section, so all of them could be built simultaneously, saving time. However, it later decided that all three sections would be built by one company.

73 housing societies declared illegal

The LDA has warned prospective buyers and investors that 73 private housing schemes in its jurisdiction are illegal as their sponsors have not obtained LDA approval.

In a general notice, the authority advised people not to purchase plots in these schemes and to verify the legal status of any scheme they aim to invest in. It also warned the owners and developers to stop selling plots and developing them until they get approval from the authority.

According to the LDA notice, the housing societies constructed on less than 40 kanals include Abdullah Town, Akhtar Abad Housing Scheme, Aziz Colony, Bilal Town, Faisal Town, Fateh Villas, Fatima Houses, Gillani Homes, Haji Amanat Ali Estate, Haji Park, Hajveri Gardens, Husnain Park, Johar Villas Housing Scheme, Mahnoor Villas, Malik Park, Mian Ji Abdullah Colony, Mustafa Town, Nasir Colony, New Gulshan-i-Lahore, Pak Town, Rehman Park Housing Scheme, villas adjacent to the Aabpara Housing Society, Vital Homes and Zain Homes.

Housing schemes on more than 40 kanals but less than 100 include Al-Hassan Garden, Ali Homes, Al-Madina Town Housing Scheme, Bilal Town, Doctors’ Society, Dream Villas, Faisal Town Ph-II, Ghousia Colony, Grand Avenue, Green Avenue, Green Park, Gulshan-i-Amin, Hafiz Town, Ideal Garden Housing Scheme, Iqbal Park, Islam Park Housing Scheme, Jameel Park, Koh-i-Noor Housing Scheme, Lalazar Garden, Mian Farm Houses, Munir Garden, Roshan Town, Sadaat Colony, a sub-division adjacent to Sultan Town, Subhan Gardens, Walk-land Villas and Yousaf Town.

Housing societies constructed on more than 100 kanals of land include Al-Haram Gardens, Amna Park, Anwar Town, Audit and Accounts Ph-II, Gillani Park-I, Gillani Park-II, Green Cap Housing Scheme, Gulberg Park, Gul-Nishan Housing Society, Indus Estate, Judicial Avenue Housing Scheme, Lahore Gardens, LDA Employees Housing Society Phase I & II, Madina Town, Mehboobia Avenue, Mian Qasim Estate, Olympic Village Housing Society, Park View Villas, Rana Town, Rehan Garden, Tayyab Town and Waheed Brothers Colony.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2013.