Muhammad Faisal Kaleem

The National Highway Authority (NHA) aims to complete all sections of a multibillion dualization carriageway project on the National Highway (N-5) in Sindh by August this year and by March next year.

According to the documents available with WealthPK, two portions of the project — tranche-II, a part of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) — are expected to be finalised in August this year, while the remaining two parts are scheduled to be completed by March 2026.

CAREC’s tranche-II is a 222km dual carriageway project, launched in August 2023. It has been divided into four portions and is being executed by the NHA through private construction firms.  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) funds this development scheme. The 49km section 3 is a road facility between Kashmore and Rojhan being constructed by M/s ZKB.

According to the documents, the contract cost of this project was Rs 7,035.2 billion when it commenced in August 2023.  As of now, 34.9% of the section has been completed.  M/s ZKB has entered into a joint venture (JV) with M/s MINCONSULT in this project. Section 4 of the project between Rojhan and Rajanpur, spanning 57kms, with the contract cost of Rs7.57 billion, is also set to be completed in August this year. 

The project’s physical progress to date remains 34.6%. M/s ZKB and M/s MINCONSULT are the consulting firms. As per documents, the remaining two portions of carriageways — 62km Shikarpur-Kandhkot and 59km Kandhkot-Kashmore — will be completed by March 2026.  Each project’s contract cost was Rs88.8 billion and Rs11.3 billion, while M/s ZKB and M/s CCECC are the construction firms, respectively.

Eleven countries are part of the CAREC Programme, working together to promote development through cooperation, leading to accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction. It is guided by the overarching vision of “Good Neighbours, Good Partners and Good Prospects.” The NHA has planned to upgrade and construct national highways and roads in Sindh under the CAREC programme.

The authority has segregated the project into three parts – tranche-I, tranche-II, and tranche-III. The first two parts have already been executed, while tranche-III is under the bidding process. The physical work will commence once the NHA has finalised the winning firm. Meanwhile, Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Saifullah Abbro clarified in the committee meeting held on July 22 that he never said a “blacklisted firm” was given a contract to dualize N-55.

He explained that the Chinese firm NXCC, which was given the tranche-III contract, was never blacklisted. General Manager NHA Muhammad Fayaz informed the lawmakers that the firm had increased its experience by completing two more projects in China after 2021. Therefore, the firm was declared qualified (for tranche-III) due to its updated credentials. Fayaz further clarified that the entire procurement process was carried out in accordance with the rules laid down by the Asian Development Bank.

Credit: INP-WealthPk