Minister for Public Works and Culture, Naeem Akhtar, today called for ramping up capacities and positioning the Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) as a major player in the booming public and private sector market.The Minister made these remarks while chairing the 93rd board meeting of the corporation at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre here. The marathon meeting that lasted for over three hours was attended by top officers of the works department and JKPCC, among others.“The message that must go out of this meeting is that the corporation is on a reform trajectory. In today’s competitive market, you have to streamline systems. Proper processes need to be put into place to strengthen the infrastructure available with the corporation and mould it as a competitor in the infra development market,” Akhtar said. Naeem said the Prime Minister’s Development Package wherein thousands of crores of rupees are going to be invested in building infrastructure projects in Jammu and Kashmir provides a window of opportunity for the corporation to build capacities. “This is an opportunity for you to not only gain experience while undertaking mega-construction projects coming up in the state but also to use this experience to become a market leader and go for bidding in national and international markets,” Akhtar said.
Pointing out the interventions required to exploit the full potential of the corporation, Akhtar said the state government will extend all possible support to make it happen. He said the corporation has vast potential to emerge as another successfully listed corporation from the state after J&K Bank.“To standardise the contracting process, including the procurement of mechanical equipment utilised in hospitals like lifts, you must set up a cell that will work under the Development Commissioner (Works). Rather than going for a particular brand, tenders should be normative but with no compromise on the quality,” the minister said.The works minister said the modifications made to projects without revising the DPR results in liability and the tendering processes must be put in place to stop works in excess of the already approved project in future. “Bidding processes should be adhered to in future while giving out projects to vendors. Performance of contractors and labour contractors should be assessed and those living up to the expectations of the corporations must be encouraged,” the minister said. The meeting was also attended by Vice-Chairman JKPCC Khalid Jehangir, Advisor Infrastructure Pradeep Singh, Commissioner Secretary R&B Sajeev Verma, Development Commissioner (Works) Satish Razdan and MD JKPCC Waqar Mustafa Shonthu.