Confusion prevails in CDA over govt directions

Islamabad : It was on Monday, March the 16th, that the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Affairs of Capital Development Authority (CDA), Ali Nawaz Awan, addressed a press conference in which he gave details about a number of public projects for which the government has given directions to the CDA to start work on.

The two particular projects he mentioned in his press conference were to resume stalled work on Islamabad Expressway from Koral Interchange to T-Chowk on GT Road. The second project to be launched was the Bhara Kahu overhead or underpass to ease the load of traffic at these two key points that have become chronic bottlenecks, clogging the traffic flow.

Mr Awan specially mentioned that the CDA has been directed to start work on two most important segments of the Islamabad Expressway project. The top priority is the underpass at PWD and the second is the widening of the Korang Nullah Bridge.

This was great news, particularly for those hundreds of thousands of people living in the private housing societies beyond Korang Nullah bridge towards GT Road, who commute up and down the Islamabad Expressway every day.

An Engineer in the CDA had told ‘The News’ in the past that the PWD underpass could be completed and opened for traffic flow within 8 months time while the Korang Nullah bridge may take 18 to 20 months to complete because of its unusual depth.

However, there seems to be some serious confusion prevailing in the CDA over the announcement made by the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on CDA because there is no official written approval or directions from the government received in the Authority as yet.

The officials in the CDA, when contacted, said that they had completed all the formalities to float the tenders already but were unable to float it till the time they receive official directions from the government.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a CDA official said that the SAPM (Special Assistant to Prime Minister) may not be aware that the PC-1 for this particular project of Islamabad Expressway was withdrawn from the agenda at the last moment during the meeting of the ECNEC (Executive Committee of the National Economic Council).

“Why Mr Hafeez Sheikh, or somebody else, did this could be anybody’s guess but the fact is that the CDA had written a letter back, probably, in September 2019 to the Planning Commission, asking the government to let the CDA complete this project from its own resources and the government can recoup the funds to the CDA later,” the source in the CDA said.

“We hope that the SAPM will get back to Mr Hafeez Sheikh or other concerned quarters to clarify the matter, making it possible for the CDA to start work on this project,” the official in the CDA said.

Presently the financial position of the CDA is good and that is why the Authority has launched a number of major projects like the construction of underpass to link G-7/G-8 sectors as well as development work in the sectors beyond D-12/E-12

Meanwhile the nightmare of commuters up and down the Islamabad Expressway beyond Korang Nullah bridge up to T-chow on GT Road is continuing. In fact it is getting worse by the day because of the dilapidated condition of the road.

Besides the deep ruts that had developed over the time because of the movement of extremely over-loaded heavy trucks and trailers, cracks and potholes have appeared because of rains and lack of repair and maintenance. With more rains predicted in the months of March and April, the condition of this road will deteriorate further.

It is expected that the SAPM on CDA, Mr Ali Nawaz Awan, will help clear the situation and enable the CDA to launch work on this project.