The much-delayed decades old Lowari Rail Tunnel project worth 45 million euros might hit snags again, as Finance Division has not released the required Rs 200 million to initiate construction work despite strict directives of President Pervez Musharraf to start mega project by the end of September 2003, sources told Business Recorder here on Thursday.
Official sources said that the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) had already approved Rs 500 million for the project, while it was decided to initially release Rs 200 million ($3.8 million).
To provide technical consultancy and supervise construction of Lowari Tunnel, the National Highway Authority (NHA) had awarded contract to Austria's Company 'Geoconsult', and Typsa from Spain.
Sources in the NHA said that this project is on the verge of losing another year owing to procedural zigzag. If the NHA fails to start construction work by July 2004, it is feared that the project would be delayed for more than a year, the sources said.
Geoconsult, Austria-based engineering company and a consortium of multinational builders, including 'Typsa' (Spain), 'ECIL' (Pakistan), 'Loya & EMP' (Pakistan), were short-listed out of seven world reputed engineering firms, the sources added.
The NHA awarded the contract to Geoconsult to technically examine the feasibility report of Asia's longest tunnel in order to provide all weather links to the people of Chitral and Northern Areas.
Nearly seven pre-qualified bidders were in line to clinch the contract of this important project.
The total estimated cost of the project is 45 million euros (excluding access road, portal facilities and railway system), the sources said, adding that however, the Austrian company has saved approximately 6 million euros through innovative technical expertise.
It was learnt that Geoconsult has submitted its detailed feasibility report on design before the National Highway Authority.
But, the sources said that the consultants have yet not been paid agreement.
Well-placed sources told Business Recorder that Geoconsult was blacklisted in the United Kingdom (UK), besides imposition of millions of pounds penalty by court after tragic collapse of Railway Tunnel beneath Heathrow Airport, London during 1994-96 owing to substandard building material and poor technical supervision.
When contacted a senior NHA official supervising the project dispelled the impression and said that we have minutely studied over 10-year performance of the engineering company and found nothing wrong.
The company is economically viable as it was linked with this project since inception in 1973, he said.
The work on Lowari Tunnel basically stared in 1957 and FWO and other construction companies prepared feasibility report.
Later, some 200-metre tunnel work was undertaken in 1973 as then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto showed keen interest in facilitating the people of Chitral.
The proposed 8.5km tunnel project is located 500 feet above the sea level that will improve all seasons link of Dir and Chitral with rest of the country.
If the project was executed on schedule, it would have been completed within four years.
President General Pervez Musharraf after October take-over had added the rail system in the Lowari Tunnel scheme.
The Geoconsult especially introduced for the first time new Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) in the alpine region.
The tunnel would not only provide all seasons link for the Chitral people, but also woo foreign tourism in these areas attracting huge foreign exchange.
Earlier, Sweden and Japan had provided $2.4 million for detailed engineering design. A previous attempt 30 years ago to construct a tunnel collapsed during construction following water inflow.
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