ISLAMABAD – Finally the Capital Development Authority has wrapped up Rs 36 million project of installation of light emitting diode (LED) lights at near-completion Zero Point Interchange.
The project was initiated back in September 2011 in the light of decision of central development working party meeting that was held to discuss Rs 6.5 billion LED lights project. Chairman CDWP has directed CDA that at first it should launch a small pilot project of LED lights and if it was found feasible/ economical then it might be initiated in other areas.
In that meeting Planning Commission has also objected to several aspects including cost and tendering process of the project. However, city managers have selected Zero Point Interchange (ZPI) to implement the pilot project contrary to the fact that Planning Commission at the time of approval of PC-I of Rs 4.2 billion ZPI project has excluded the idea of installation of LED lights taking grounds that sufficient lighting system is already in place on ZPI.
Installation of LED lighting towers was part of the master plan of under construction ZPI, but Planning Commission had rejected it after terming that particular item as “illogical and wastage of money” in the presence of sufficient lighting systems at the facility.
The current lighting system on ZPI project costs Rs 70 million approximately to CDA. TheNation has published all the irregularities committed by the CDA officials while tendering this pilot project in a bid to favour a firm to whom the Authority has issued Letter of Intent recently for Rs 6.5 billion lights project.
“As the Asian Development Bank has refused to fund Rs 6.5 billion LED lights project so CDA does not need any further approval from Planning Commission,” CDA Chairman Engineer Farkhand Iqbal has said while talking to TheNation.
Now, as Planning Commission has nothing to do with the project, similarly, CDA does not need to follow the decisions of the Planning Commission anymore. In continuation of this development the firm Oslo - that was supposed to launch this pilot project - has withdrawn its bid for the project, a top official of Engineering Wing of the Authority said. He said now CDA would go to sign the agreement for project where whole of the city’s streetlights would be replaced with LED lights.