The Capital Development Authority (CDA) approved the hiring of a consultancy firm, Engineering Consultancy Services Punjab (ECSP), to build a 3.4-kilometre stretch of road connecting Margalla Avenue to the Motorway (M-1).
It is worth noting that of the 3.4-kilometre?road, 1.8 km is in Rawalpindi and 1.6 km is in Islamabad, and the firm has been appointed for the stretch of the road in the capital. It will carry out detailed project design, estimation, environmental impact assessment (EIA), create bidding documents, and monitor road construction.
Meanwhile, according to a working paper approved by Member Engineering Syed Munawar Shah, the CDA recently sought?bids from consultants under a clause requiring only state-owned enterprises to participate in the bidding process.
As per the paper, three companies – Nespak, the Directorate of Design and Consultancy, the?E-in-C branch, and Engineering Consultancy Service Punjab (ECSP) – were requested to submit bids. Only ECSP made a financial bid for the full route, which runs through Islamabad and Rawalpindi, in March 2022. Later, the CDA concluded that the expert would only be hired for the Islamabad area, which is around 1.6 kilometres long.
The business presented a revised bid for the 1.6km patch in April of this year, costing Rs78.75 million. The new cost was accepted by the CDA board, which convened last week under the supervision of Chairman Noorul Amin Mengal.
Moreover, the board instructed the engineering wing to begin consulting work as soon as feasible. The alignment of the abovementioned road was also authorised by the CDA board a few months ago. The CDA will build the road within Islamabad’s boundaries, while Rawalpindi’s relevant department will build the portion within the garrison city.
A working paper prepared by the member engineers said that the full advantage of Margalla Avenue would not be realised until the road was connected to the M-1 highway.
The avenue was connected to G.T. Road through Sector D-12 in the initial phase of the project, and this construction was nearing completion.
Sources said that the project consists of a six-lane road facility that would provide an alternate route to Islamabad from GT Road (N-5) and vice versa.