A joint venture of China’s Zhongding Int’l Engineering Co. and Pakistan’s Progressive Technical Associate won contract to construct the 55-kilometre-long Awaran-Jhal Jhao road in South Balochistan after offering the lowest bid.
According to Gwadar Pro, the National Highway Authority had floated the project with an estimated cost of Rs6.06 billion. However, the ZIEC-PTA joint venture offered to build the road for Rs5.15 billion.
The project is part of the government’s plan to rehabilitate and widen the Hoshab-Bela road, which connected Gwadar and Karachi in the past but was later abandoned after the construction of Makran Coastal Highway in 2004.