ISLAMABAD: In a bid to stop the contamination of Rawal Dam, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to revive the sewage treatment plants project — on the back burner for years owing to multiple reasons — which would cost approximately Rs6.2 billion.

The civic authority would establish treatment plants in the catchment area of the dam, namely Shahdara, Bari Imam, and Banigala.

According to CDA officials, the project would take at least 14 months to complete from the date of its inauguration and would treat at least 9.6 million gallons of sewage daily.

On Friday, the CDA chief, Mohammad Usman, was briefed on the project by the engineering wing of the civic agency. The chairman directed the officials concerned to kick-start the project and submit the revised PC-I to the Planning Commission for approval without haste.

Project to take 14 months to complete from date of inauguration, 9.6m gallons of sewage to be treated daily

Sources said the chairman was of the view that the project should have been executed years ago as its cost ballooned by Rs2 billion due to inordinate delays and called the increase in the cost a matter of concern. However, the CDA chief was told that the price increased on the back of the steep rise in the exchange rate and inflation.

The officials said the initial PC-I had been prepared when the value of the rupee was Rs138 per dollar and added that the price of construction material had also soared.

Last year, the CDA called bids, which were opened in July of the same year, but the contract could not be awarded within the stipulated time.

As a result, the bid’s validity time expired and now the civic agency is going to get the approval of the revised PC-I from the Planning Commission before calling for fresh bids.

According to CDA officials, the PC-I was prepared on the direction of the Planning Commission as an engineering procurement and construction (EPC) mode project which meant that its design and engineering would be handled by an EPC contractor.

They said after awarding the tender last year, the civic body was supposed to get the revised PC-I’s approval from the Planning Commission. However, an objection was raised by the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project had not been carried out. In the meantime, the bid’s validity period expired.

Earlier this year, the CDA informed the Planning Commission that the EIA would not be conducted if the project was carried out through the EPC mode. It said under the EPC mode, the contractor was supposed to prepare the project’s design and the EIA could not be carried out without it.

Sources said in the revised PC-I, the CDA clearly mentioned that since the project was of the EPC mode, after a competitive process whoever won the contract, within three months they would get the EIA done as they would first complete the detailed designing of the project.

“The contractor will do detailed designing and based on design he will go for EIA,” said an official of CDA, adding that soon after getting the revised PC-I the CDA will call tenders for awarding the contract. It is, in fact, an environmental mitigation project.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2022