Islamabad, Dec 24 (IANS): Bids have been invited from Chinese construction companies and other international and local firms for the multi-billion dollar project of Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (PCEC).

According to an official report, the bids have been invited through national and international publications, the Dawn reported Wednesday.

Work on one of the sections of the PCEC was initiated this month under which a motorway from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Havalian to Thakot areas, as phase-I of the Islamabad-Raikot section of the corridor would be constructed, the report said.

This Havalian-to-Thakot section of the corridor is being financed by China.

The second section of the PCEC will be initiated in January for the construction of a motorway from Sindh province's port city of Karachi to Hyderabad.

The project has been awarded to Pakistan's Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).

A senior official of National Highway Authority (NHA) said it was a wrong impression that only Chinese firms would execute work on all sections of the PCEC.

Bids had been invited from all international and local firms and any firm could win the contract, he added.

In the past, such projects were conducted through government assistance.

The official said the firms which would invest their money in the PCEC project would be paid through collection of road tax (toll).

The official said besides the PCEC project some other related projects would also be initiated soon.

They included reconstruction of existing Islamabad-Lahore Motorway and Karakorum Highway (KKH) that originates from the Pakistan-China border.