KARACHI, Jan 15: The financial bids from the four short listed parties of the consortium of eight investment banks were opened here on Saturday at a meeting of the Implementation Committee set up by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for the formation of the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation (KUTC).

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of State Minister for Railways Ishaq Khakwani at the Karachi Railway's divisional head office here on Saturday. Among others, the meeting was attended by City Nazim Niamatullah Khan, Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Ghulam Sarwar Khehro, and Divisional Superintednent Railway Junaid Qureshi.

The meeting accepted the lowest bid of Rs18.5 million on the condition that the bidder will remove the conditional ties as incorporated in the offer and further reduce the charges.

The Consortium of Global Securities (first lower offer), along with the AKD Securities and Pak-Kuwait Investment Company, withdrew their conditions and brought down the charges to Rs17.5 million and also promised further reduction by Monday as some of their partners were not in contact.

Later, the minister told APP that the cost quoted by the consortium pertained to raising Rs3.5 billion, through the issuance of municipal bonds, to be spent on the rehabilitation of the Karachi Circular Railway and to build overhead bridges and underpasses at 21 locations of the KCR system.

He said the cost also included setting up of the KUTC. Mr Khakwani said the Implementation Committee also took up the other item on the agenda - short listing of commercial banks and corporate law firms.

As a result, three law firms namely M/s Orrdingham, M/s Fazl-e-Ghani Khan and Company and M/s Issa Afridi Rizvi and Angel were short listed while the Muslim Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and National Bank were short listed as commercial banks which would assist the KUTC after its establishment.

In reply to a question, Ishaq Khakwani said it was hoped that an agreement with the investment banks would signed within two weeks after which all formalities would stand completed for the issuance of the municipal bonds.

"This is the prime minister's resolve that an example will be set in Karachi by improving its transport facilities for major cities of the country,", he said. Upon its success, the federal government would look into the transport problems in other cities and take initiative to resolve them.

Responding to another question about the KCR, Mr Khakwani said that 21 coaches to constitute three rakes of the train service were under the process of refurbishment at Mughalpura Workshop, Lahore.

The coaches are, at present, being painted and would hopefully be inducted by February 15, or even earlier. The inauguration, however, depends on the preoccupation of the prime minister, he added.

According to the minister, in the first phase, the KCR service would be operated between the City Station and Landhi Stations. On this sector, 10 up and down trains would be operated to carry 10,000 passengers every day.

In the second phase, he said, the KCR would connect Baldia, Orangi and Nazimabad with the KCR system. The minister said that the Railway had invited expression of interest (EOI) from out side parties which would facilitate travel between the two points.

He said that the Railway had received very good response from four parties which were in touch with the DS Railway for working out terms and conditions of a contract and finalize the same by January 25. -APP