Latest news with #AsianDevelopmentBank-funded
Time of India
16-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Mayor's July deadline for Behala drainage work
Kolkata: Mayor Firhad Hakim on Friday set a July deadline for Kolkata Environment and Infrastructure Improvement (KEIIP) to wrap up the Behala drainage development project. During the 'Talk to Mayor' interaction on Friday, where a Sakherbajar resident urged the mayor to take corrective measures before the monsoon, Hakim expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in completing the upgrade work. A spell of heavy showers lays bare the sorry state of the drainage system in Behala. Large parts of Behala get inundated after every downpour. The familiar scenes of people wading through knee-deep water has made residents of Behala keep their fingers crossed before the onset of monsoon. According to Behala residents, the drainage modernization project has been dragging on endlessly with no signs of improvement in the waterlogging scenario. According to a KMC official, the worst sufferers have been the residents of Motilal Gupta Road, MG Road and Shakuntala Park, among other areas. The first major drainage upgrade project for the city's drainage system was taken up by the KMC under KEIP in 2003. A majority of funds (Rs 1600 crore) of the Asian Development Bank-funded mega project was allocated to develop the drainage system in Behala. However, when the project ended after getting delayed for years, the civic engineers found fault with the laying of pipes to convert open drains into underground ones. This apart, several low-lying areas bordering Joka and Mahestala municipalities were left untouched. That necessitated a second phase of the KEIP drainage upgrade project for Behala. Under the second phase, large drainage development work is under progress in areas including Silpara, Shakuntala Park, Sakherbazar, Upen Banerjee Road and parts of James Long Sarani. This ongoing work has added to the waterlogging woes in Behala, conceded a KMC drainage department official.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Cabinet clears 351cr for Wayanad township plan
Thiruvananthapuram: The state cabinet on Wednesday granted administrative sanction for Rs 351 crore for the Wayanad township programme. Work on the project will commence once KIIFCON, a subsidiary of KIIFB, issues technical clearance. The cabinet also gave conditional approval for appointing Mumbai-based STUP Consultants Ltd to prepare the detailed project report for the proposed Sabarimala greenfield international airport. The consultancy fee, fixed by KSIDC, is Rs 4.366 crore. A committee led by the chief secretary has been tasked with resolving implementation hurdles for the airport project. The cabinet approved covering the medical expenses of renowned sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman, who is undergoing treatment in a private hospital. The funds will be released from the chief minister's distress relief fund (CMDRF). Approval was also given to a Rs 57.56 crore project under the PM JANMAN scheme for electrifying 261 tribal houses across 22 tribal settlements in the state. In addition, projects worth Rs 2.76 crore for electrifying 84 more houses will be submitted to the govt. The cabinet cleared the Asian Development Bank-funded 24x7 drinking water project to be implemented by the Kochi Municipal Corporation under the Kerala Urban Water Supply Improvement Project. A consultancy contract for the loan implementation support unit will be signed for Rs 299 crore.
Express Tribune
03-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Water project components' contract cancelled
The Punjab government's project steering committee has cancelled a contract worth Rs20.4 billion awarded to a foreign firm for Lots 2 and 3 of the Chahan Dam Water Supply project and has ordered a fresh tendering process following a fact-finding investigation by the Chief Minister's Inspection Team (CMIT). The Asian Development Bank-funded project had originally been awarded to a Turkish firm, Five-H Insaat, despite the successful joint venture bid having also included a Pakistani company, Qasim & Co. The steering committee questioned how the contract was awarded solely to the foreign firm when the bid was won as a joint venture. CMIT's intervention, prompted by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, is being credited for preventing a potential financial scandal. A high-level meeting chaired by Punjab Planning and Development Board Chairman Barrister Nabeel Awan, and attended by all relevant secretaries, their representatives, and Hamza Salik, Project Director of the "Dream Project," reviewed CMIT's findings before deciding to cancel the contract. The committee also decided that necessary action against the officials responsible for the contract award would be taken by the chief secretary. Additionally, in line with the Chief Minister's directive, all future foreign-funded projects will be reviewed by the steering committee every three months to ensure transparency. The contract in question had sparked legal action from Qasim & Co., who challenged the exclusion in court. After the matter was brought to the chief minister's notice, she instructed CMIT to conduct a fact-finding inquiry and submit a report within seven days. The CMIT investigation, led by Chairman Salman Ejaz along with members Ahsan Waheed, Ghulam Abbas Warraich, and an engineering specialist, found significant flaws in the procurement process, including the absence of regular quarterly reviews despite the project being foreign-funded. Now, under the guidance of the Chairman of the Planning and Development Wing Punjab, the Steering Committee of Dream Project-1 will decide within three weeks whether to reinstate or fully terminate the contract. If cancelled, the contract will be retendered. For context, Lot 1 of the Dream Project-1bringing 12 million gallons of water daily from Chahan Damhad previously been awarded for Rs6.36 billion to a joint venture between China Construction Third Engineering and a Pakistani partner. Meanwhile, Lot 4, worth Rs7.19 billion, was awarded to a joint venture of MS Mirakhan KBDL and Five-H Insaat. Lot 4 covers the upgrade of filtration plants, pumping stations, and old pipelines at Rawal and Khanpur dams to ensure 24/7 water supply to the Khayaban-e-Sir Syed area.
Express Tribune
27-03-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Irregularities surface in key water project
The Punjab chief minister's inspection team has identified irregularities in the Asian Development Bank-funded Rawalpindi Water Supply Dream Project One, particularly in Lots 2 and 3, which have a contract value of Rs20.40 billion. In response, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has instructed officials to complete documentation and refer the matter to the project's steering committee for a decision within three weeks. Additionally, the chief minister has directed that all foreign-funded projects undergo a review every three months. The chief secretary has been tasked with identifying responsible officers and taking necessary action against them. According to sources, the Chahan Dam Water Supply Project's Lot 2 and Lot 3, worth Rs20.40 billion, was initially awarded to the Turkish company Five H Insaat in a joint venture with the Pakistani firm Qasim & Co. However, contrary to the successful bidding process, the contract was exclusively awarded to the Turkish firm, prompting Qasim & Co to challenge the decision in court. Upon bringing the matter to the notice of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, she deemed the decision to be lacking transparency and ordered a fact-finding investigation by the chief minister's inspection team within seven days. The team, led by Chairman Salman Ejaz and members Ahsan Waheed and Ghulam Abbas Warraich, conducted an inquiry and confirmed irregularities in the contract award process. The findings revealed that due process was not followed, as the project's steering committee failed to conduct quarterly reviews, which is a requirement for foreign-funded initiatives. Now, the Planning & Development Wing Punjab will assess the matter under the steering committee's leadership and decide within three weeks whether to uphold or cancel the contract. If the awarded contract is revoked, a new bidding process will be initiated. It is noteworthy that Lot 1 of Dream Project Oneworth Rs. 6.36 billionwas awarded to China Construction Third Engineering in partnership with a Pakistani firm, aiming to supply 12 million gallons per day from Chahan Dam. Meanwhile, Lot 4, valued at Rs. 7.19 billion, was awarded to a joint venture of MS Miracon KBDL and Five H Insaat, focusing on upgrading filtration plants, pumping stations, and old water supply lines from Rawal and Khanpur Dams to ensure 24/7 water supply to the Khayaban-e-Sir Syed area.
