Important Announcement Regarding KSK Station Tender
KSK Station will be expanding, and construction will begin in 2020. Once construction of the new station building is complete, we plan to hold a tender to replace all of the current toilets, the station’s escalators, and the walkways connecting to the station’s platforms with new ones. This tender involves multiple companies, which will help ensure that their products meet KSK Station’s high standards of quality and safety.
A message from Minister of Shipping At its seventeenth session, in June of 2016, Parliament approved a proposal to extend the funding agreement on KSK station from 2037 to 2042. This extension will allow us time to locate and fund a suitable site for mining lunar helium-3 by building a new extraction facility at our present location. Extraction at a new site would not be possible for at least another decade, so we must act now if we are to keep up with our national mandate—one hundred years after Armstrong and Aldrin made their historic landing on Mare Tranquillitatis, we will finally begin mining one of our most precious resources. It is an honor that falls to me personally as Minister of Shipping—to follow in Armstrong's footsteps and lead us into a bold new era of prosperity.
In order to secure a location for our new extraction facility, we must consider not only its proximity to existing infrastructure, but also its proximity to future expansion. It is my hope that we can have a new site chosen within six months, before year's end. We will be using state-of-the-art lunar crawlers—equipment designed and built by you, our trusted partner—to extract Helium-3 from beneath KSK station and use it in fusion reactors here on Earth as soon as possible. While it is my intention that we keep these mining facilities open for several decades more, I want to emphasize that your continued cooperation throughout any transition will be critical to mission success in all respects.
The Project Invitation to Bid will be published in National Newspaper by Competition Commission of Pakistan inviting bids for: Design, Construction, Operation and Maintenance of KSK STATION. Tenderers are requested to submit their bids in sealed envelopes with date, name and address of Tenderer, Number of Bidders, Project Name and Nature of Business mentioned on top left corner thereof at Office of Project Management Unit within one week from publication in Dawn (Awaaz) newspaper. Applicant/s intending to apply for tender as a group should forward two copies duly signed by authorized person/s. It is clarified that above deadline is only for submission of tenders which shall not be deemed as valid unless having original signatures of authorized person/s on top left corner.
Bids must be accompanied by Bank Guarantee/s in form of crossed and un-crossed bank draft/s drawn on Nationalized Banks at Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad with following condition(s) attached to it: 1. The bank guarantee amount shall not be less than 2% of total bid amount on each tender in favour of Director General Corporate Affairs on account of performance guarantee and 12% on each tender in favour of Board members of Project Management Unit representing Federal Government as a guarantee for performance bond. Each bid must be accompanied by duly filled up form-14 (annexed to reference). The bidder is responsible for correctness of information provided therein.
Preparation Phase I (2019-2022)
$3.6 billion. During this phase, they are planning to start working on possible means of construction and determining a timeline. The design specifications will be determined during Preparation Phase II (2022-2023). As of right now, most likely they'll be reusing any old parts that are still in working condition from any other shuttles built by USA or Russia. So far there is no set date for if or when construction may start but it should begin sometime after 2021.
Here are some of their plans that they're thinking of:
As of right now there is no set date for if or when construction may start but it should begin sometime after 2021. They also plan to replace all damaged cables on board and make any minor repairs. The current condition and status of KSK will be updated regularly here until 2022 when Preparation Phase II begins. More information will be added as it becomes available... Preparation Phase II (2022-2023): $1.5 billion. During this phase, they are planning to build a working prototype that can be tested in space during a few unmanned test flights before proceeding with human trials. During Preparation Phase III (2023-2024), they are planning to finish testing, produce more prototypes, and do more unmanned tests while they finalize production plans with partners and suppliers worldwide.
Preparation Phase II (2023-2025)
During Phase II, we will be tendering for major civil construction of Kaiga-Sambhalki section. This phase will include all major bridges, tunnels and other civil works. The scope of work in Phase II is expected to cost around Rs 40,000 crore and require an investment of around 20,000 man days. Of that, we expect to complete land acquisition and evacuation during Phase I (2018-2022). As such, we have already started working on detailed project report preparation for Phase II. We are also identifying contractors who can bid for tenders during Phase II. As part of it, our team recently visited some of these contractors at their offices and gave them presentation on our project. Our team also met with representatives from JSW Group, L&T Construction Company Limited and Gammon India Limited among others. They were excited about bidding for our tender and expressed interest in participating as consortium partners. It’s worth noting that none of these companies have participated in any rail projects so far. However, they do have experience constructing large infrastructure projects like airports, roads and power plants. They also said they would consider bringing along local partners if needed. Overall, we were very pleased with how things went during those meetings and look forward to seeing a good response when tenders are issued next year.
Commissioning Phase III (2026-...)
The Commissioning Phase is meant to ensure that all facilities are ready for use. With everything from basic heat and water to fueling infrastructure in place, contractors and engineers run systems through a series of simulations, checks, inspections and trials. At each stage we're double-checking against our design models. If any issues are found, they'll be fixed before anything goes live. While most vehicles can fly on their own once delivered, these test runs will ensure all facilities function with seamless efficiency—and verify service schedules. In short: You don't want to find out your new station can't support traffic while you've got millions of visitors on board! Remember: We're not just delivering stations - we're delivering destinations! Get it right or get left behind.
With work on Phase II concluded and stations opened for traffic, we've confirmed service schedules to all destinations - from new business opportunities to family visits. But before we can bring you Phase III, we need to raise funds. That's where you come in! With your investment, not only will you help secure your spot on board a station bound for one of our popular destinations, but also help us reach crucial design benchmarks. Don't wait! Time is running out: Invest now and secure your spot aboard a station bound for a world of endless opportunity!
