Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (Retd) Maqbool Baqar, presiding over the 44th Public Private Partnership Policy (PPP) Board meeting, approved Rs14.5 billion to complete additional works on the Malir Expressway. The meeting was held at the CM House on Saturday and was attended by provincial ministers – Mubin Jumani, Ishwar Lal, Omar Soomro, Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam, Chairman P&D Shakil Mangnejo, Secretary Local Govt Manzoor Shaikh, SMBR Zahid Abbasi, Secretary Finance Kazim Jatoi, Secretary Irrigation Niaz Abbasi, Secretary Law Ali Ahmad Baloch DG PPP Unit Asad Zamin, VC NED Dr Sarosh Lodhi, Asif Brohi and others.
The PPP Policy Board acknowledged the detailed multilayer verification process carried out by the Department through the Independent Engineer of the project, third-party engineering firm and NESAPK for awarding the additional works to the existing Concessionaire of the project.
The latest concern regarding the achievement of the Commercial Operations Date has been resolved. The Board emphasized that, given the current high-interest scenario in the country, it would be more sensible for the Sind government to provide the necessary funding. The chief minister instructed the Finance Department to arrange the required funding of Rs 14.5 billion within two months to ensure that the project completion does not encounter any delays. The CM directed the Local Government department to get the required approvals from the Sind Cabinet in line with the directions of the PPP Policy Board. Secretary Local Government Manor Sheikh to the PPP Policy Board that the Local Government Department launched the Mali Expressway Project under a single-stage two envelope procurement process on July 31, 2019.
The Department issued the Letter of Award for the captioned project to the Consortium led by JN & Co. (“the Concessionaire”) on January 22,2020, whereas the Concession Agreement was executed on 21st April 2020. The Commencement Certificate was issued on May 12, 2022, upon which construction works were commenced. DG PPP Unit Asad Zamin told the meeting that the first segment of the project from Qayumabad till Quaidabad was scheduled to be completed by November 2023. However, the Concessionaire faced problems in undertaking construction works after Quaidabad near Samo, Laasi and Shafi Goth (Murad Memon and Gadap town) areas as the original alignment, as per RFP, was passing through thick settlements and most of the Goths fallingwithin the right of way are regularized goths.
In this regard, an elevated option has been under consideration for which various cost verification layers were introduced to discover a competitive price. After the approval of the PPP Policy Board and provision of required funding with the prompt allocation of the required funding, the project is expected to achieve its COD by June 2025 with the first segment likely to be operational in the next three months.
