ISLAMABAD – The Zero Point Interchange (ZPI) is far away from meeting its December 31 completion deadline as Capital Development Authority (CDA) has not been able to make timely payment to the project contractor.
“CDA has yet to pay Rs 350 million to the contractor who may stop the project work if the civic body fails to make payment within the next few days,” said an official requesting anonymity.
He added that many other contractors working on various uplift projects were facing the same payment problem and, he said, all ongoing development schemes, therefore, might not be able to meet the set deadlines.
The official said the ZPI contractor had completed two loops of the interchange and opened them for traffic and the remaining work of the project might be completed within the stipulated period if the CDA would pay the required amount well in time.
The cloverleaf design of Rs 2.34 billion ZPI project was approved by CDA after making many changes in the original design which includes construction of four loops and as many ramps encompassing a length of 10 kilometers.
The project, initiated in September 2008, when completed, would provide a permanent solution to traffic jams caused by over 25,000 vehicles passing through Zero Point at peak hours in the federal capital.
Timely completion of ZPI unlikely
