Consortium Appeals to Senate Chairman Over Obstruction of Crucial Highway Expansion Project

Strategic Insights -

A consortium led by a Chinese firm has written to Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, alleging that sitting senators are attempting to derail the award of contracts for the dualisation of the N-55 highway between Rajanpur, D.G. Khan, and D.I. Khan. The project, executed by the National Highway Authority (NHA), is a vital part of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded N-55 CAREC Tranche-III highway expansion project. The consortium claims to have been lawfully declared the lowest evaluated bidder with a margin of Rs13.2 billion for all four construction lots after a transparent and ADB-approved process.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Consortium claims to have been lawfully declared the lowest evaluated bidder with a margin of Rs13.2 billion for all four construction lots.
  • The letter alleges that sitting senators, specifically Senator Saifullah Abro, are attempting to pressure government officials into reopening the concluded bidding process.
  • The losing bidders, in an alleged attempt to reopen the bidding process, engaged Senator Saifullah Abro to pressure government officials.
  • Senator Saifullah Abro has vowed to blacklist the firm over allegedly non-compliant and misrepresented information.
  • The project, worth Rs146 billion, forms part of Pakistan's commitments under the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programme, co-financed by the ADB.
  • Any delays could impact Pakistan's credibility with international lenders and slow progress on critical infrastructure aimed at boosting trade and connectivity.

Statistics:

  • Rs13.2 billion: the margin by which the consortium was declared the lowest evaluated bidder.
  • Rs146 billion: the total cost of the N-55 project.
  • Rs173 billion: the claimed worth of the project.
  • 326 kilometres: the distance of the N-55 highway to be dualised between Rajanpur, D.G. Khan, and D.I. Khan.
  • 4: the number of construction lots for which the consortium was declared the lowest evaluated bidder.

Sources:

  • "Consortium appeals to Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani over project obstruction." Dawn, August 26.