A Chinese-led joint venture has won all four packages of Tranche-III of the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Corridor Project, securing the contracts through a transparent bidding process and resulting in savings of Rs13.24 billion.
The joint venture is led by M/s Ningxia Communications Construction (NXCC) in partnership with local firms M/s Rustam Associates and M/s Dynamic Constructors.
The project, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), aims to expand the N-55 highway between Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Dera Ismail Khan by converting the existing two-lane road into a four-lane carriageway. The initiative is expected to improve regional trade routes and enhance connectivity.
According to the National Highways Authority (NHA), the financial bids were evaluated after addressing all concerns, ensuring a fair and competitive selection process. NXCC’s bids offered cost advantages over the second-lowest bidders, with savings of Rs1.4 billion for Lot-1, Rs2.4 billion for Lot-2, Rs2.3 billion for Lot-3, and Rs7.1 billion for Lot-4.
The NHA stated that the procurement process was completed efficiently in line with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vision for infrastructure development. Tranche-III follows ongoing work on Tranche-I and Tranche-II of the CAREC Corridor Project. Under Tranche-I, a 66.37 km section between Petaro and Sehawan, constructed by M/s Xinjiang Beixin Road and Bridge Group, is 98 percent complete, while a 43.4 km section between Ratodero and Shikarpur, built by a joint venture of M/s TIEC and Umer Jan, has reached 43 percent completion.
Tranche-II includes four road segments between Shikarpur and Rajanpur, undertaken by firms such as M/s ZKB and M/s CCECC, with progress ranging between 14 percent and 23 percent. The NHA expects the timely completion of these projects to strengthen Pakistan’s transport infrastructure and boost trade connectivity within the region.
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