Kashmir Highway expansion project in doldrums

The mega project of widening of the Kashmir Highway, leading to new Benazir Bhutto Road, is in doldrums due to the indifference of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
According to sources, a construction firm had sent a notice to the CDA urging them to stop the work on the project. It was learnt that the main reason for the delay was the inability of the department to release funds to the construction companies working on the project.
The CDA had divided the project into two sections, the contracts for which were given to two different construction firms. Contract of the first section was awarded at Rs 1,649 million while the contract of the second section was awarded at Rs 1,699 million, resulting in a gross cost of Rs 3,248 million. The contracts were awarded in February 2011 and would end in February 2013.
According to the CDA sources, progress on the first section was very disappointing as only eight percent of the work was completed until now. However, 35 percent work had been completed on the second section, said the sources. The sources informed that Rs 35 million of payment to the contactor of section one of the project was still pending, while Rs 250 million of payments for the second section was also due, the sources told agencies.
Similarly, Rs 48 million was required for the construction of a railway bridge, which had not been issued by the finance wing yet. The CDA had paid Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) and Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) in advance, but they were yet to transfer the service lines to the area. When contacted, a CDA official said the federal government was to pay 50 percent for the project as it was a BSDP project. The federal government had released Rs 95 million but the accounts officer authorised to sign the assignment accounts cheques had gone for Hajj and the approval and verification process of the signatures of the other official, who had been authorized for the task, could not be completed yet, he said. The payments would most probably be released to the construction companies in the next week, he said.