The federal government has approved the purchase of a bulletproof Toyota Land Cruiser worth Rs95.049 million to strengthen security arrangements for Chinese nationals and visiting delegations associated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The vehicle will be allocated to the CPEC Secretariat to support official movements and high-level engagements.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the security of Chinese citizens working in Pakistan remains one of the government’s highest priorities. The purchase is part of broader efforts to enhance protection measures for Chinese personnel involved in CPEC-related projects.
According to official details, the new bulletproof Land Cruiser will be added to the existing fleet of security vehicles. It will complement the current arrangements, which also include bulletproof vehicles and helicopters being used, or acquired, for the protection of Chinese nationals across the country.
The CPEC Secretariat informed the government that the Cabinet Division’s existing pool of bulletproof vehicles is insufficient to meet operational requirements. Officials said the shortage has resulted in delays and disruptions during official meetings, visits by foreign delegations and other high-level engagements.
The Secretariat also noted that hiring bulletproof vehicles from private companies has proved both expensive and unreliable. It recommended purchasing an additional vehicle to ensure uninterrupted security arrangements for official duties.
The government approved the purchase through direct contracting under Rule 42(c)(vii) of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Rules. Three authorized Toyota dealerships participated in the bidding process, with Toyota Central Motors submitting the lowest bid of Rs95.049 million, ahead of Toyota Port Qasim and Toyota Society.
As the CPEC Secretariat lacked sufficient funds for the purchase, the Ministry of Planning approved the reallocation of Rs58.3 million from several development projects. These included the Centre of Excellence for CPEC, the Federal SDGs Programme, the Monitoring and Evaluation Project and the Policy Research Grants Programme.
The reallocated amount also included Rs6.2 million that had originally been allocated for the salaries of contract employees. Officials said the purchase was approved to ensure adequate security resources remain available for Chinese nationals and visiting delegations participating in CPEC-related activities.
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