ISLAMABAD: The capital development authority (CDA) is shortly acquiring 30 buses for Islamabad airport metro bus project. The authority had already received bids from three parties and two lowest bidders will be asked to supply buses for metro bus project.
Peshawar Mor to New Islamabad Airport will be operational in next few months. In March 2021, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) took over the project on the direction of the federal government from National Highway Authority and for the fiscal year 2020-21, the government has earmarked Rs300 million for this project.
According to CDA officials, two parties have submitted the lowest bids to supply buses for this metro bus project. Higher Bus Company Limited was the lowest bidder with Rs728 million price of 30 buses. Foton and Auto Park have submitted bid of Rs33 million for each bus, while Master Motors Corporation submitted bid of Rs29.8 million per bus. Nonetheless, Higher Bus Company submitted bid of Rs24.2 million against each bus with total Rs728 million.CDA officials said in presence of all three qualified bidders and Financial Evaluation Committee members, the bids were opened.
The bidders are seeking three to four months time to supply buses, said CDA officials, adding 24 buses would be operating from Peshawar Mor to N5 bus station near G.T. Road while six others, having extra space for luggage, would run from N5 to the airport round the clock.
The officials said that lowest bid would be presented before the CDA management for final approval and then the orders will be placed to lowest bidder to provide buses.
The corridors and stations of the metro track have already been constructed and now command and control, ticketing, station management, cleanliness and security systems were to be completed.
In March this year, the National Highway Authority (NHA), after construction of the corridor and stations, handed over the project to the CDA.
The NHA had launched work on the 25.6km-long track from Peshawar Mor to IIA worth Rs16 billion in Jan 2017. The project was supposed to complete in Aug 2018 but its civil work was completed earlier this year.
