LAHORE - A contractor of Lahore Development Authority (LDA)’s project of the construction of 5.8 kilometres long GT Road Expressway will also have the rights of toll collection for a period of 25 years.
A consortium of well reputed Pakistani companies has been shortlisted to execute the mega project through public-private partnership on Build-Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.
Official sources stated the PC-I along with the proposals of toll collection have been sent to the Planning and Development Department to get approval from the Provincial Development Working Party in its next meeting.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 7.5 billion and the contractor will be authorised to collect toll from vehicles under the agreement, if approved from the P&D. The rate and schedule of toll charges is under consideration between the LDA and the consortium, the sources added.
After the approval from P&D Department, the construction work would be started hopefully in January next year. Starting from current location of Ravi River Toll Plaza and ending at Rachna Town near Kala Shah Kaku, after the Imamia Colony Railway Crossing, the GT Road Expressway shall be a grade-separated and access-controlled highway.
The project shall entail a 3+3 car lanes and a 2 lane dedicated Metro Bus corridor placed on embankment retained by RCC retaining walls, a 2-lane service road on both sides, two flyovers including one at Shahdara Morh and the other one on Railway Line at Imamia Colony, one underpass at Shahdara Morh to cater for Jaranwala-Lahore traffic movement, an at-grade roundabout at Shahdara Morh, construction of four new bus stations (including a terminal point) and remodelling of one existing bus station.
The project will be executed under Public Private Partnership Act 2014 while the private partner shall be required to design, engineer, finance, construct, maintain and operate the expressway for a period of 25 years in exchange of a concession to exclusively collect tolls.