ISLAMABAD: The National Highways Authority (NHA) on Tuesday informed the Senate Standing Committee on Communication that on account of the increase in diesel and other prices, the cost of Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway may escalate.

The Senate Committee on Communication met on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Senator Prince Ahmed Omer Ahmedzai to discuss the irregularities in the award of contracts under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement by the NHA in the construction of Hyderabad–Sukkur Motorway (M-6) and Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway Project and contracts of toll tax stations under the NHA.

The NHA officials briefed the committee on the Hyderabad–Sukkur Motorway (M-6) financial bid comparison between the ZKB and techno –CMR-ACC. The NHA officials informed that the project would be carried on PPP mode and would be completed in three years. The bid for the project was given in September 2021, but due to an increase in diesel and other related items’ prices, the project cost may escalate.

Earlier, the bid proposal of M/s TECHNO-CMC-ACC Consortium was declared ineligible on account of the eligibility factors provided in the RFP. Registration of bidder with Tax Authorities Specific Construction consequently, technical evaluation of only eligible bidder, i.e. M/s Zahir Khan & Brothers was processed, on which, the committee had reached a unanimous decision that TECHNO-CMC-ACC Consortium be provided necessary documentation based on which they fulfil technical eligible criteria per bid data sheet of the project, therefore, their technical bid disqualification was incorrect. It was evident by the financial bid proposal that M/s Techno-CMC –ACC is very lucrative for the government point of view as there is a least financial burden on the government side.

The matter was disposed of while clearing the project which involves significant private investment least burden on the government exchequer, whereas, the matter of construction of Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway project was deferred because of the non-provision of relevant documents.

The ministry was directed to provide the details of the companies that participated, bidding documents and the comparison between their experiences. On the matter of contracts toll tax stations under the NHA it was observed that in the province of Balochistan four toll plazas are identified out of which two have been on the NHA record tabled in the meeting on the road-wise toll plazas details on national highways while the other two are not mentioned. The committee directed the NHA to ensure that all the toll plazas are registered.

The Senate Standing Committee on Communication on Tuesday observed that the hike in toll tax on the motorway from Islamabad to Lahore increased from Rs60 in 2014 to Rs1,000 in 2022 through a 10percent annual increase, the committee advised that the toll tax collected should be benefited by the people of Pakistan and not by the contractors.

The briefing on the funds allocated and released (project-wise) and payments made for the last quarter at the fiscal year 2021-22 and the first quarter of the fiscal year 2022-23, liabilities of the NHA firms and reasons for the release of very small amount against NHA projects involving huge costs was also deferred.

The committee, unanimously, pointed out that briefing and working papers submitted by the ministry were misleading creating confusion to evaluate the facts of the projects with mala fide intentions to delay the projects. The ministry agreed to the recommendations of the committee and ensured to provide all the required details in the next meeting.

The meeting was adjourned for further deliberation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022