24 May 2004	Monday	04 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

ISLAMABAD, May 23: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) will not be able to meet the third 'deadline' set by the interior minister for construction of bridges on Islamabad Expressway due to delay in the release of additional Rs40 funds allocated for the project under the government's Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), a source in the CDA told Dawn on Sunday.

Under the third deadline, the CDA was to complete the project by May 30. The first deadline was December 31, 2003, while the second ended on March 31, 2004. The source said work on the Islamabad Expressway project was being delayed due to financial constraints, causing a great deal of hardship to commuters.

A senior official of the CDA said the authority required a sum of Rs40 million to complete the project but despite lapse of almost a year, the amount earmarked under the PSDP had not yet been released.

"We have again asked the government to provide the funds so that the construction of three major bridges on this important road could be completed as soon as possible," he said.

The government, he added, had assured the authority that the funds would be provided to the CDA within the next week. "If we received the required funds next week, as committed by the government, we would complete the project by June 30," he added.

The official said one of the three bridges, known as Funder Bridge, would be ready next week while the remaining two were expected to be completed within a month. People have been facing problems for the last three years due to delay in the construction of the bridges.

The official said some 70 per cent work on the bridges had been completed. The source said the authority required an additional amount of Rs40 million for the completion of the project as it could not be completed at the estimated cost.

The CDA had hired a consulting firm for the construction of the bridges, but due to lack of payment to the company it had refused to provide further services, the source said. The project which was started in August 1999 had to be completed by Aug 2000.