LAHORE
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government is putting extreme political pressure on Asian Development Bank (ADB) for fast-tracking launch of Rs 6.189 billion Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit Project (BRT) before the 2018 general elections, which may undermine the quality, design and implementation of project, highly placed officials confirmed.
Sources told Pakistan Today that the KP government reassured the Bank on Friday regarding Bank’s concern of political competition and dropping off rivalry build up on comparisons.
ADB strongly emphasised engagement with the existing bus industry besides establishing negotiation process enabling existing operators to participate in the new BRT system. The project design includes a fleet scraping program and compensation mechanism for nonparticipating operators. A large stakeholder engagement and participation plan has to be implemented, ensuring buy-in from the communities impacted by the project.
The government conveyed that civil works, equipment, and operating costs were made by advance contracting.
Pointing at the limited capacity and a lack of coordination and clarity regarding the roles and responsibilities of the executing and implementing agencies, sources said that an assessment of additional capacities required by the executing and implementing agencies, including national and international consultants and incremental staff of PMU and PIUs were included in the project scope.
Consultants required by the executing and implementing agencies have been hired and are fully mobilised. The government approved advance funding for the project management and implementation units, and staff have been hired. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Urban Mobility Authority’s (KPUMA) boards of directors were acting as the project steering committee and would guide, oversee, and coordinate among the different entities implementing the project. The consultants’ report to the KPUMA, provides dedicated coordination support, and responsibility for overall management of the project.
Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) consultants have been hired in advance under the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) and initial surveys for both the design and relocation of utilities have been completed. Traffic management and alternate routes have been identified, and the packaging and phasing of procurement and implementation have been synchronised accordingly.
The government transferred funds to Board of Revenue (BOR), have already been approved by the government and work is phased to start in sections that do not require land acquisition. A separate PC-I for the relocation of utilities has been approved, and funds are being transferred to these utilities in advance, along with location maps of the utilities to be removed. This was closely being coordinated by the Peshawar Development Authority, which has a well-established coordination mechanism in place with all major utilities to ensure timely removal.
Sources said that a detailed procurement capacity assessment of both implementing agencies was conducted, and the procurement capacity required to undertake advance actions and contract management was built into the PIUs’ structures. In addition, the national and international consultants would be hired under the PDA provide oversight. The procurement plan has been designed to reduce the number of packages without compromising competition and to reduce contract management requirements.
The bidding documents have been prepared with the support of the PMCCB consultants hired under the PDA. EPCM consultants have completed 75 per cent of the DED under the PDA, allowing advance procurement to be undertaken for most civil works contracts, which will be ready for award on or before loan effectiveness.
