PESHAWAR: As the groundbreaking for the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit project draws closer, the delay in the issuance of no objection certificates to five Chinese state-owned companies by their country`s diplomatic mission in Islamabad has turned out to be major concern for the provincial government.

The government has planned to launch work on the Rs53 billion project on August 1 and complete it in six months a timeframe, which many believe, is too ambitious.

The Peshawar Development Authority, which is to execute the project, had originally planned to complete work in one year. It however reduced the time to six months after Chief Minister Pervez Khattak expressed the desire to see it complete before he completes five-year term in office in May next year.

The officials insisted that muchof the meeting of the new deadline depended on the early start of work on the project, to be undertaken in three stages, for which a pre-bidding conference of top state-owned Chinese construction companies, was held in PeshawaronJune5.

Among the companies was also the one, which had built the hydroelectric Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze River, the world`s biggest power station, with the installed capacity of 22,500 megawatts.

The details shared with Dawn show that seven companies either international or having joint venture with international companies took part in the open pre-bidding conference.

The companies included China Gezhouba group, China Gansu Corporation-Usmani Associates Private Limited, China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group, Metallurgical Corporation of China and CFMCC MCC Roba Joint venture. A Turkish company, Alke Insaat Sanye va Ticarat ASC, and a joint venture of the SBK-KNK also took part in it.

However, the Chinese companies revealed during the openhouse discussion there that they were still awaiting NOCs from their embassy in Islamabad totake part in the bidding process.

`Until the Chinese embassy issues NOCs, we will not be able to take part in the bidding process,` a company representative told the conference.

The ofhcial said the revelation had caused concern for the KP government, which feared a delay in the start of work on the project.

The Chinese companies were top state owned enterprises, offering engineering and construction solutions; however, for some reasons Chinese embassy had yet to issue permission to them to take part in the BRT bidding, he said.

As some in the provincial capital suspect the federal government is behind the delay, sources claims the Chinese embassy is delaying the issuance of NOCs over security concerns.

The officials insist that in April this year, the KP government held a successful road show in China, where some 84 memorandums of understanding valuing over $24 billion were signed.

`The Chinese were also happy with the road show and the KP government naturally wants Chinese to get the BRT contract to further built on the success of the roadshow and cement bilateral relationship and coopera-tion,` he said.

However, the official dismissed these saying Chinese companies were already working on the Sokhi Kinari and Hazara Expressway projects in KP.

`Compared to these areas, Peshawar was all the more the secure for Chinese,` the official said. `There is no reason for any security concern`, the official maintained.

`We have made elaborate arrangements to ensure full protection and security to our Chinese friends`, the official said.

Some officials, however, fear that any further delay in the issuance of NOCs by the Chinese embassy would force the government to look for engaging other international companies, including Turkish and South Korean, for the project.

`We do not have much time at hand,` he said.

Last month, the KP government approved the formation of a 4,000-member dedicated investment security force to ensure the security of foreign investors, especially Chinese ones, coming to the province in connection with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridorrelated projects.

The force is likely to cost the province Rs1.2 billion per annum.