The government has decided in principle to award the Rs. 205 billion Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway (M-13) project to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) without open bidding.
The proposal was approved by the Board of Directors of the Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A).
The National Highway Authority (NHA) recommended awarding the project directly to FWO, arguing that the organization is in a position to begin work immediately.
The government opted for a negotiated procurement process under provisions of the P3A Act, which allows exceptions to competitive bidding.
The motorway is considered a priority infrastructure project as it is expected to shorten the distance between Lahore and Rawalpindi by around 100 kilometres and reduce travel time by more than an hour compared with the existing M-2 motorway.
The proposal will now be sent to the federal cabinet for final approval before implementation.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the project in April this year at an estimated cost of Rs203.32 billion, with directions that it be procured through international competitive bidding.
The project will be developed under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model.
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