ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) decision to shelve an underpass project on Srinagar Highway near Serena Chowk has resulted in traffic congestion at the intersection, creating difficulties for commuters almost on a daily basis, particularly during rush hours.

In July, the CDA opened a tender to award contract to Railcop, which had submitted a lower bid than the National Logistic Cell (NLC). On August 3, the then prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, was supposed to inaugurate the underpass project, however, at the eleventh hour, he refused to inaugurate it by saying that Railcop had no expertise in building underpasses and directed the CDA to give him a presentation on this project.

And now, the bid validity has also expired. “The bid has expired…technically, this project has been shelved,” said an engineer of CDA. He said that the civic agency would have to start the bidding process afresh whenever it decided to resume the project.

“Every day, I face traffic jams here, but the CDA is not showing any interest in resolving this issue,” said Rizwan Ali, a cab driver.

CDA official says decision to shelve project does not make sense

He said that traffic from different roads, including Constitution Avenue, Club Road (Murree Road) Srinagar Highway and Attaturk Avenue among others converge on this intersection, leading to congestion.

An engineer of CDA said this project should be carried out on a priority basis as ‘VVIP delegations’ also use the said roads to reach parliament and other important buildings on the Constitution Avenue.

“If the bid’s validity has expired, the civic agency should seek fresh tenders. However shelving this project does not make any sense. The CDA will have to construct it sooner or later,” the engineer said.

It is relevant to note here in Islamabad most of the junctions, where traffic was facing congestion saw improvement with underpass and interchange. The Serena Chowk and F-9 signals are major areas, where traffic mess is still causing problems for people.

Railcop bid

Railway Constructions Pakistan (Railcop), belonging to the Pakistan Railways, had won the contract by submitting the lowest bid (Rs2.1 billion) against the bid of Rs3.5 billion submitted by the National Logistics Cell (NLC).

The former prime minister had sought a presentation from the CDA on the construction firm which had won the contract before deciding the project’s fate. However, during his stay in office, Mr Sharif could not make a decision.

Under the said project, the Srinagar Highway from 7th Avenue Interchange to Serena Chowk was to be widened with two additional lanes. Furthermore, a portion of the highway from the junction to Murree Road would have been overhauled as well under this project, which would have taken six months to complete.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2023