RAWALPINDI: Joint Venture selection of Rs 34 billion Rawalpindi Ring Road Project has been completed after third-party assessment as Asian Consulting Engineers and Botek Bosporus Technical consulting company have been chosen to validate the optimal route for Ring Road.
The JV successfully secured the technical and financial bid, offering the lowest bid of Rs. 25 million while the Project Management Unit (PMU) had estimated Rs. 30 million for the project.
Among the four companies expressing interest in the bidding process, the JV of Asian Consulting Engineers and Botek Bosporus Technical consulting corporation emerged as the winning bidder.
Sources revealed that MM Pakistan did not participate, and the technical committee, led by Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Chief Engineer Dr. Habibul Haq Randhawa, assessed and rejected the bid of SKAF Consultants on technical grounds.
In a competition between the two JVs, the JV of Finite Engineering and Prime Engineering & Testing Consultant offered Rs. 32 million, while the Asian Consulting Engineers and Botek Bosporus Technical offered the lowest bid of Rs. 25 million.
The final decision was made during a meeting chaired by Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha and attended by RDA Director General Saif Anwar Jappa and Chief Engineer Dr. Habibul Haq Randhawa.
It was decided that the PMU would sign an agreement with the joint venture in the coming days, and the firm would commence work by the end of May, completing it within six months.
RDA’s chief engineer confirmed the development, stating that the third-party validation of the Rawalpindi Ring Road would commence soon.
The Punjab government had instructed the PMU to conduct international bidding to hire a consultant for the validation process after disqualifying two firms.
Previously, during the PTI’s tenure, two routes were planned for the project.
The 2020 alignment featured a 66.3-kilometer route from Rawat to Thalian, while the revised alignment in 2021 reduced the length to 38.3 kilometers, starting from Baanth at National Highway (N-5) and terminating at Thallian Interchange on Motorway M-2.
The total cost of the project was estimated at Rs. 33.7 billion, with Rs. 27 billion allocated for construction and Rs. 6.7 billion for land acquisition.
Read more: Population increase in Karachi exposes flawed census method, claims PILDAT chief
