KP opens bids for Bus Rapid Transit

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has started the process of initiating practical work on its ambitious mega project of Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) with the opening of financial proposals of bids for the project here on Thursday.

To meet the August 14 deadline it has set for the inauguration of the work on the project, the provincial government is poised to assess the technical and financial aspects of the proposals today (Friday), which would then be submitted to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the agency providing major portion of funding for the project.

On Thursday, the financial proposals for the bids submitted by five construction companies and joint ventures (JVs) were opened in the presence of the procurement committee, representatives of the bidders and media.

The meeting at which the financial proposals of bids were opened at a local hotel was also attended among others by Malik Shad Mohammad Khan Wazir, special assistant to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on transport, Daud Khan, secretary Transport and Mass Transit Department and Hassan Saleem Wattoo, director general (DG) Peshawar Development Authority (PDA).

A total of five construction firms and JVs had submitted bids for the project, which has been divided into two Packages and three Reaches.

Four of these companies and JVs had submitted financial proposals for the BRT Package-1, consisting of Reach-I and Reach-III. The aspiring bidders for this portion included China Gansu International Corporation and Techno-Economic Cooperation (CGICTEC), Limak Insaat Sanayive Ticaret AS-Zahir Khan brothers (ZKB) JV, SGEC-Maqbool-Calsons JV and ALKE-AKKROD JV.

According to the project document, the Reach-I will start from Chamkani on the eastern tip of the city that will end at Firdous Chowk. The Reach-III will start from the Amn Chowk at the Peshawar Cantonment to its end at the BRT terminus, Hayatabad.

The China Gansu International has offered highest bid of Rs9.3 billion for the Reach-I and the SGEC-Maqbool Calsons (JV) offered lowest bid of Rs7.6 billion for the portion of this project.

The CGICTEC, Limak-ZKB, ALKE & AKKROD JV, and CR21G-Maqbool-Calsons (JV) submitted bids for the Reach-III of the project.

The CGICTEC offered the highest bid and again the CR21G-Maqbool-Calsons (JV) offered the lowest bid of Rs10.8 billion for this stretch of the corridor.

Three companies and JVs including CR21G-Maqbool-Calsons JV, Limak-ZKB JV and China Gansu International Corporation had submitted their financial proposals for bids of the Reach-II of the project.

The CR21G-Maqbool-Calsons (JV), though submitted the lowest bids of around Rs10 billion for the Reach-III, yet it withdrew its proposal at the eleventh hour.

The CGIETEC offered highest bid of Rs13.58 billion, followed by the Limak-ZKB (JV) with its bid of Rs12.8 billion for the Reach-II.

Saleem Wattoo informed that consultants of the PDA and the executing agency of the infrastructure portion of the project, would finalise formalities regarding the bid proposals today (Friday) and the same would be forwarded to the ADB. About the deadline of the project completion, he said they would keep up their efforts to complete the project within the stipulated time.

On the occasion, Malik Shah Mohammad Khan Wazir blamed the federal government for delay in the initiation of the project.

He said the federal government spoiled two precious years of the provincial government and expressed the commitment of the government to complete the project in six to eight months.