PROJECT MANAGEMENT REPORT FOR

KALMA CHOWK FLYOVER BRIDGE

DESIGNED BY NESPAK

REPORT PREPARED BY
023Asad Waheed Khan

TABLE OF CONTENT
1- Introduction
2- Project Brief
3- Project Mission
4- Work Breakdown structure
5- Construction Details
6- Scope of Work
7- Budget
8- Risk

1- Introduction:

Kalma Chowk Flyover is a flyover and a road bridge passing over the main square of
Lahore. It is passing through the Kalma Chowk. This flyover was made due to the heavy
traffic on the Ferozepur Road. The project was started by the Punjab government on
March 5, 2011 and completed in a record period, in 135 days.
Recently, due to the Metrobus (Lahore), a popular mode of transportation in Lahore,
further improvements at this junction needed to be made. The Punjab Government,
considering public difficulties, decided to construct an underpass from Gulberg to
Garden Town along with four, signal-free U-turns to facilitate traffic movement. By
constructing the underpass and signal-free U-turns, more than 150,000 vehicles will
benefit. The project was initiated on 11 December 2012 with a mobilization period of ten
days. The actual date of commencement was 21 December 2012. In spite of very
severe climatic conditions and several landslides due to rainfall, the project was
completed in eighty days. Currently, it is the longest underpass in Pakistan with a full
height of 5.1 meters (17 feet); it is strong enough to support heavy as well as light
vehicles. (1)

2- PROJECT BRIEF:
The flyover will have two
carriageways (three lanes
each) having 10 m space
between them for the Bus
Rapid Transit System. The
length of bridge including
ramps will be 572 m.
NESPAK is providing design
and construction supervision
services for the project. The
target date for completion of
project was August 14, 2011.
(2)
This project consisted of a
construction of an underpass
with two bores, one for each
carriageway, with variable
lengths of ramps. In addition,
two single span bridges have
been constructed one on each side of the underpass. These bridges allow traffic to
take a U-turn. The construction of the underpass will not only give relief to traffic but
also allow smooth running of the Metro bus (Lahore), with minimum possible delays at
the crossing. Before undertaking the development of the underpass, a model study of
the traffic diversion plan was conducted to help in arriving at a plan capable of meeting
every eventuality. A large number of information and warning signboards, as well as
traffic police, were placed to guide the road users. (1)

3- Project Mission:
This project consisted of a
construction of an
underpass with two bores,
one for each carriageway,
with variable lengths of
ramps. In addition, two
single span bridges have
been constructed one on
each side of the
underpass. These bridges
allow traffic to take a U-

turn. The construction of the underpass will not only give relief to traffic but also allow
smooth running of the Metro bus (Lahore), with minimum possible delays at the
crossing. Before undertaking the development of the underpass, a model study of the
traffic diversion plan was conducted to help in arriving at a plan capable of meeting
every eventuality. A large number of information and warning signboards, as well as
traffic police, were placed to guide the road users.

4- Work Breakdown structure:

The project was envisioned by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Feb 26, the
communication and works department forwarded on March 1 a summary to the
planning and development department, which added a positive note the following
day and sent it to the finance department.
The summary was fine-tuned by the finance department on March 4 and forwarded
to the chief minister who approved and inaugurated the project the following day
after modifying the Standard Form of Contract, relaxing budget and reporting
classification codes besides departmental financial rules and waiving provincial
procurement rules, said the official.(3)
The CM had fixed Jan 31 as a deadline for the completion of the project, however,
the authorities could not complete it on time due to commitment to citys other mega
project, the Metro Bus System. Officials said the underpasses project had been
launched in the first week of December 2012.
The underpasses have been built on full depth, as even heavy traffic, including
buses and trucks, can go through them, Tepa Chief Engineer Saeed Akhtar told
Dawn. .(4)

5- Construction Details:

Type

Description

Name

Kalma Underpass, Lahore

Executing agency

LDA TEPA

Consultant

NESPAK[2] ECSP JV[3]

Contractor

Habib Construction Services[4] IKAN JV

Total length of project

3.0 km

underpass length with ramps 1070 metre

95 metres (main)
Barrel length
30 + 45 metres U-turns
Height of underpass

Full height 5.1 meters

Number of lanes

4+3

Barrel width

15.3 meters and 12 meters (each)

Green planter

3' Wide on either side of ramp

Central green planter

5.2-meters

Commencement date

11 December 2012

(1)

6- Scope of Work
The scope of
work consisted
of construction
of two bores with
variable width
along the Barket
Market Liberty
Market Road.
The underpass
has ramps of
varying length
and height of the
retaining walls.
The two bores
are
separated by two retaining walls in the underpass in such a way that four retaining walls
are inside each bore. The carriageways on the Liberty side are separated by a green
belt while the carriageways on Barket Market side are separated by a retaining wall.
The length of the ramps on the Barket Market side varies. In addition, two single span
bridges have been provided on each ramp to facilitate making a U-turn. The Barket
Market side U-turn is a double U-turn. The bridges are on spread footing with precast
pre-stressed concrete girders. The underpass structure is over piles, and piles have
also been used as a retaining structure. Service roads and slip roads have been
provided at grade. A sump pump has been constructed on the Liberty-side ramp before
the start of the bore to prevent rain water from falling over the entire area of the
underpass. Arrangements were made for its disposal. (1)
The total number of bridge piers on both the flyovers is 22 with 104 bridge piles (each
pier has 4 to 5 piles). The officials said that when they received the design of a pier they
started work and as the work was about to finish, NESPAK handed them another
drawing of the same pier. (5)

7- Budget And Risk:

NESPAK undertook the detailed design, tender documentation and construction

supervision of this fasttrack project and completed the entire project in a record time of
135 days. This Rs. 2 billion project entailed the construction of two 572 m long flyover
carriageways (three lanes each) at the Kalma Chowk, Lahore, having 10 m space
between them for bus rapid transit system (Metro Bus Service System).
At the groundbreaking ceremony, the C&W Department secretary announced the cost
of the project as Rs2.3 billion. Now that cost has increased to Rs2.62 billion.
A C&W Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Express
Tribune that from the start there were mistakes in the designs.
The total number of bridge piers on both the flyovers is 22 with 104 bridge piles (each
pier has 4 to 5 piles). The officials said that when they received the design of a pier they
started work and as the work was about to finish, NESPAK handed them another
drawing of the same pier.
He said this was a mismanagement of manpower, resources and time. It had also, he
added, increased the cost of the project. He said they had no option but to obey orders.
He said that time was precious and the mistakes were being made as Sharif wanted the
flyover completed by August 14. The departments, he added, had no other choice but to
kowtow to Sharifs orders.
C&W Department chief engineer Munawar Bashir told The Tribune that changes in the
drawings were not a big issue and such changes happened all the time in projects. He
said at times dimensions need to be altered due to technical reasons. Bashir denied
that any money had been wasted due to the changes in the drawings.
Sabir Khan, project director of the flyover, said the design had been prepared as the
first study was done in 1992. Since then the design had been revised keeping the traffic
congestion in mind, he said.
Khan said the approval from the Planning and Development Department for the project
was for Rs2.62 billion, which included the transfer of different utilities worth Rs700
million.
He said the figure had been reduced to Rs400 million after negotiating with the
departments. (6)

Lahore Bachao Tehreek convener and architect Imrana Tiwana said the project was
started by the Punjab government in haste.
It was started without fulfilling the mandatory requirement of having an environment
impact assessment (EIA) aimed at considering alternatives and impacts and whether or
not to do the project at all.
There has been a big conflict of interest in the project. Nespak was appointed design
engineering firm and it was also entrusted with undertaking the EIA. The Nespak fee
for the project is 1.83 per cent of the total cost of the project. Can Nespak prepare an
impartial report when it is chief engineer of the project? said Ms Tiwana who is an
urban designer and environmental planner. She said work on the project was being
carried out round the clock, even on holidays. It was an ad hoc decision, with no
connection to the existing plans, which are not considered anyway and do not exist in
totality.
The government has decided to go ahead with the rapid rail system after the recent visit
of the chief minister to China. Kalma Chowk is the route of the green line of the rapid rail
system. If the rapid rail system is to be built, this project will have to be demolished
within a year. Furthermore, the Kalma Chowk project does not refer to the Lahore Urban
Transport Plan being prepared by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
and the Punjab government, she said.(7)

REFERENCE:
1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalma_Underpass,_Lahore
2- Nespak news report
3- http://www.urbanpk.com/forums/index.php/topic/3145-lahore-kalma-chowkflyover-underpass/page-2
4- http://www.dawn.com/news/789819/kalma-chowk-underpasses-open-today
5- http://tribune.com.pk/story/176703/kalma-chowk-design-flaws-plague-flyoverproject/
6- http://tribune.com.pk/story/176703/kalma-chowk-design-flaws-plague-flyoverproject/
7- http://www.urbanpk.com/forums/index.php/topic/3145-lahore-kalma-chowkflyover-underpass/page-2