Parliament Lodges extension: Joint National Assembly, Senate body gives go-ahead

Despite opposition's reservations, the House and Library committees of National Assembly and Senate on Tuesday gave go-ahead to phase-wise extension of the Parliament Lodges, to cost about Rs 2.7 billion. The project consists of 500 servant quarters, which would be constructed in the first phase, and 100 additional family suites for parliamentarians in the second phase.
The approval was given in a combined meeting of the House and Library committees of the two Houses jointly chaired by National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi and Deputy Chairman of Senate Jan Mohammad Jamali, while PML-N MNA Sara Afzal Tarar opposed it. The construction of the project has been awarded to Arif Habib Group.
The project will be completed in two-and-a-half years, in three phases. It had been opposed by Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Nisar Ali Khan who through a letter had asked Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to hold it down due to the financial crunch. The project was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on January 19, 2011, and will be funded from Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
Briefing the reporters after the joint meeting, Jamali, said that the meeting gave approval to phase-wise construction of the project, as its further delays would increase its construction cost, which could exceed to Rs 6 billion after five years. He said that out of the 38 companies that qualified after the tender, only five were short-listed and finally the project was awarded to Arif Habib Group on the basis of being lowest bidder.
He said that Rs 419.25 million has been allocated for the initial stage of the project and out of which Rs 84 million has been released. Earlier, Chairman of Capital Development Authority (CDA), Imtiaz Ilahi gave a detailed briefing on the project and said that estimated cost of the project was Rs 2.7 billion. He said that the construction would take place in three phases, and the whole project would be completed in three years. He also gave briefing on year-wise allocations for the project.
The meeting was attended among others by MNAs Amir Muqam, Asghar Ali Jatt, Saira Afzal Tarar, Asiya Nasir, Engr Shaukatullah, besides Senators Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo and Farhat Abbas. The meeting was also attended by Secretaries of Cabinet Division, Senate and National Assembly besides officials of the CDA and Ministry of Finance.
A monitoring committee was constituted comprising Engr Amir Muqam, Engr Shaukatullah, Asiya Nasir, Senator Farhat Abbas and Hasil Khan Bizenjo. The committee will monitor progress of the project to ensure transparency and timely completion. The committee also decided that offices of all chairmen of the standing committees of the two Houses of the Parliament would be established in the Parliament Lodges after its construction.