Islamabad, October 11, 2021 (PPI-OT):8th meeting of the Standing Committee on Communications was held today under the acting Chairmanship of Mr. Murtaza Javed Abbasi. The meeting commenced with recitation from the Holy Quran. The Chairman welcomed all participants and after a brief introduction of participants the Committee decided to proceed as per the agenda.
The Bill titled “The Pakistan Postal Services (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (moved by Mr. Amjad Ali Khan, MNA)” was presented and the Committee decided to defer the Bill till its next meeting. The briefing by the Pakistan Post on the status of Ladgasht Post Office in District Washuk, Balochistan, was deferred as the concerned Hon. Member was not present.
The Member (South Zone) Karachi, National Highway Authority (NHA), briefed the Committee regarding rehabilitation of Garho – Keti Bandar road. He informed that the Garho – Keti Bandar section (package III) is spread over 25 Km which has been 52.13% completed. The commencement date of the project was 25-06-2010 and revised date of completion was 25-12-2013. The contractor has suspended the work since July 2013 and currently the case is under Court of Law. The Committee took serious notice of undue delay in completion of Garho – Keti Bandar section and directed the Ministry to hold an enquiry and submit report to the Committee within fifteen days.
The Committee was also briefed about the Sassui (Chilia) toll plaza, it was informed that the toll plaza is located at km 100 + 500. The invitation for the bid was floated in press on 31-03-2021, and the contract was awarded on net guaranteed monthly fixed revenue basis to M/s Shah Latif Enterprises that is operating on fixed revenue basis of Rs. 3,182,786.00. The Committee desired 6 months’ comparative data on count of traffic (heavy/light transport vehicles) passing through the Sassui (Chilia) toll plaza and detail regarding all bidders.
The representative of NHA briefed the Committee on construction of additional carriageway from Petaro to Sehwan 128 Km (N-55). Package 1A (from Mehran University to Petaro) for 20 Km and package 1B (from Petaro to Khanote) for 20 Km was funded by GoS and is 100% complete. The Package 1C (from Khanote to Manjhand) for 24 Km was awarded to the lowest bidder who could not perform at site, resultantly, NHA terminated the contract due to poor performance. The contractor filed suit in Islamabad High Court and the hearing of the case is 21-10-2021.
In the briefing, on construction of Sukkur to Hyderabad Motorway (M-6) section, the Committee was informed that the length of the project is 306 Km and it passes through 6 districts. The design and land acquisition proceedings of the project are in progress. The Committee recommended that an interchange may be constructed on Sukkur – Multan motorway (M-5) to facilitate public and trade in the area.
The Member (North Zone) Peshawar briefed the Committee on Kohat – Gandi road 123 km additional carriage way. He informed that the scope of project is dualization and improvement of existing Indus Highway (N-55) from Sarai Gambila to Kohat. The project is consisted of package I (from Sarai Gambila to Karak section) spread over 60.85 km and package III (from Karak to Kohat section) for 66.80 km. Over all progress of package-I is 82% while for package II is 72%, the revised date of completion of both projects is 22-11-2021. The Committee was also informed about the issues of public relating to the contractor of the project and the Committee directed NHA to resolve the issues.
The Member (North Zone) Peshawar in his briefing on progress of work on Chitral – Gilgit road, informed that the project is divided into four packages. The Package I is awarded and commencement is under way, while package II and package III has been approved by NHA Executive Board and award of these sections is underway. The work for package IV is in procurement stage. He further informed that the project will be completed within two years’ time after commencement of work at site, subject to settlement of land issues by District Management and handing over of land to NHA.
The Member (West Zone) Quetta briefed the Committee regarding progress of Hub Bridge, he informed that due to heavy rain and outflow of excess water from Hub Dam the Hub Bridge was damaged. The Committee recommended that the repair of Hub Bridge may be carried on immediately. The Committee recommended that the remaining work on 2.5 km portion of Khuzdar to Shahdadkot road may be completed on priority basis. The Member (North Zone) Peshawar briefed the Committee regarding Ayub Bridge at Havelian which was badly damaged due to heavy rain during last three months. The Committee recommended rehabilitation of Ayub Bridge immediately.
Hon. Members/mover/MNAs Moulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, Prince Muhammad Nawaz Allai, Mr. Imran Khattak, Rana Muhammad Ishaq Khan, Syed Abrar Ali Shah, Syed Ayaz Ali Shah Sheerazi, Mr. Usama Qadri, Mr. Muhammad Aslam Khan, Mir Khan Muhammad Jamali, Mr. Jai Parkash, Dr. Darshan, Mr. Ramesh Lal and the senior officers from the Ministry of Communications, National Highways Authority, Ministry of Law and Justice and Pakistan Post attended the meeting.
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