Tender for new PA building held up

* PAD cannot finalise designs due to space limitations

By Qamar Jabbar

LAHORE: The process of issuing pre-qualification tenders for the construction of Punjab Assembly’s new building and hall has not begun because of space limitations.

The Punjab cabinet approved the construction of the building in January, but the Punjab Assembly Secretariat cannot start the process of tendering until PAD finalises the project design, secretariat sources told Daily Times on Tuesday.

They said that PAD’s chief architect had not completed the design for the new building, which would be built behind the current Punjab Assembly building, because Faletti’s Hotel limited the space available for construction.

“The Building Department, a sub-department of the Communication and Works Department, will start the tender process after getting permission from the assembly secretariat,” they said.

The new building will be built on the design of the existing building and cost an estimated Rs 800 million. The new hall with a seating capacity of 500 will cost an estimated Rs 617 million, a Public Works Department (PWD) official told Daily Times.

He said that the PWD was waiting for an official letter from the assembly secretariat to start the tender process. He said that national and multinational companies would be invited to participate in the bid for the tender. He said that the lowest bidder would be given the tender.

An assembly secretariat source said that the tender would be finalised in the first week of May and construction would start in the first week of June.

The existing Punjab Assembly building was built on an eight-acre area on The Mall in 1935. The existing hall cannot accommodate the 371 provincial legislators because it has a seating capacity of 263. The new hall will be able to accommodate 500 legislators and 200 journalists.

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