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ISLAMABAD, Apr 05 (APP):Federal Minister for Housing and Works Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada visited Shaheed-e-Millat Secretariat in Blue Area, here on Saturday.
During his visit, he inspected the vertical transport system of a multi-storey government building and chaired a special meeting to resolve the issue of faulty elevators.
The meeting was conducted in the committee room of the Pakistan Housing Authority Foundation.
Senior officers of the Ministry of Housing and Works and representatives from ICT administration, Pak PWD and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) participated in the meeting.
Ministry of Housing and Works has owned the Shaheed-e-Millat Secretariat Building since 1986. Its vertical transport system consists of one cargo and five passenger elevators.
It was discussed in the meeting that the issue of elevators remained unresolved primarily due to the paucity and delays in the release of required funds. A contract was awarded after the approval of the first PC-I in 2019 with a budget of Rs. 54.24 million for replacing three lifts.
Subsequently, administrative approval was granted in 2021 to an umbrella PC-I that included the replacement of three other passenger lifts at a cost of Rs. 48 million. Initially, funds of Rs. 50.92 million were released in FY 2020-21, but the project could not meet expectations owing to the non-compliance of contractors, leading to the re-appropriation of funds to other PSDP schemes.
Maintenance responsibility was handed over by Pak PWD to CDA on October 31, 2024. It was agreed upon that CDA would move for early revision of authority with termination and necessary revision of agreements with contractors.
Chairman CDA, who spoke via Zoom link, assured the chair to act positively within the next two weeks by repairing and making operational the two elevators on an emergency basis.
The minister showed grave concern over the long delay in the repair of elevators and the hardships faced by thousands of employees and visitors on a daily basis.
He rebuked the relevant authorities for their negligence and urged all stakeholders to resolve the issue on a war footing.