950807

Bayindir, Daewoo

to build Islamabad,

Peshawar motorway

HASEEB HAIDER

LAHORE: The Turkish construction firm Bayindir Insaat Tirism Ve Sanayi, and Korean giant, Daewoo succeeded in winning a long battle when Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto agreed to the construction of 157-kilometre six-lane Islamabad-Peshawar motorway, costing Rs.13.5 billion.

Official sources told Business Recorder on Monday that the Prime Minister who chaired the meeting of National Highway Authority (NHA) on Sunday was convinced that the Islamabad-Peshawar motorway has to be built, which earlier created a little gulf between Pakistan and Turkey last year, when Pakistan cancelled the contract. The Turkish Prime Minister, who visited Pakistan last year, took up the matter at the highest level. The Turkish firm after great disappointment also filed a suit in a civil court for damages worth Rs.5.6 billion for terminating the motorway contract.

The six-lane Islamabad-Peshawar motorway could cost Rs.18 billion.

The details of the contract would be settled with the Turkish firm on Tuesday in Islamabad.

On the controversial Lahore-Islamabad motorway, which has the estimated cost of Rs.27 billion, the Prime Minister directed that decision taken by the Moeen Qureshi government for converting six lanes into four lanes should be scrapped which would defeat the very object of the motorway. She directed the Authority to make it a six-lane motorway, upon which the Daewoo company agreed to build it at the estimated cost of Rs.27 billion on which four lanes, had to be constructed.

Daewoo, which has completed over 70 percent work on the Lahore-Islamabad motorway, had started packing up its heavy machinery, and were winding up its offices. Due to heavy rains and floods in some parts along the motorway, the work had been stopped, which delayed the project by one month.

The motorway constructing company, however, failed to convince the NHA for granting one year grace period. Details of the revived project would be discussed in Islamabad on Tuesday.