The government has decided to purchase bulletproof Toyota Land Cruisers worth Rs 95 million for the security of Chinese citizens

The government has decided to purchase a new bulletproof Toyota Land Cruiser worth Rs 95.049 million (approximately Rs 95 million) to make the security of Chinese citizens more effective.

This vehicle will be acquired for the use of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Secretariat to provide safe travel facilities to Chinese delegations and experts.

According to Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, the protection of Chinese citizens is the first responsibility of the government of Pakistan and this vehicle is being purchased for this purpose.

According to official documents, this new Land Cruiser will be in addition to the existing bulletproof vehicles and at least 2 helicopters, which are being used or are in the process of being purchased by various government agencies to protect Chinese citizens.

The CPEC Secretariat took the position that due to the limited vehicle fleet of the Cabinet Division, bulletproof vehicles are not available at the required time, which leads to delays or sometimes cancellations of important official meetings, visits of foreign delegations and meetings.

According to the documents, renting bulletproof vehicles from the private market is not only uncertain but also very expensive, which puts an additional burden on the national exchequer. The government has decided to purchase the vehicle through direct contract under Rule 42(c)(vii) of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA).

3 Toyota dealers submitted prices, including Toyota Central Motors: Rs 95.049 million, Toyota Port Qasim: Rs 95.25 million, Toyota Society: Rs 95.45 million, the government accepted the offer of Toyota Central Motors, which was the lowest bidder.

The CPEC Secretariat did not have the required amount for the purchase of the vehicle, on which the Ministry of Planning decided to transfer Rs 58.3 million from various projects.

However, the order could not be issued due to non-receipt of necessary approvals by the end of the financial year.

The ministry arranged to provide this amount from various projects, including Rs 18.8 million from the Center for Excellence for CPEC, Rs 9.1 million from the Federal SDGs Program, Rs 11 million from the Monitoring and Evaluation Project, and Rs 16 million from the Policy Research Grants Program, including Rs 6.2 million allocated for the payment of contract employees.