Likely delays: Roadblocks on Orange Line’s route to completion

Construction stopped at 12 spots; LDA searching for new contractor

LAHORE: Substantial delays are likely in the completion of Lahore Metro’s Orange Line project as construction has been stopped near heritage sites on court orders while the contract of one of the builders has also been revoked.

The $1.65-billion, 27-kilometre Orange Line track once completed will connect Raiwind Road, Multan Road, McLeod Road, the City railway station and the Grand Trunk Road. When the project was initiated in October 2015, the government had scheduled the inauguration of the train on December 25, 2017.

However, the government has met roadblocks in the form of a court order, barring construction near at least 12 sites near historic buildings, and the cancellation of a contract on sluggish performance by the building firm.

The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) is currently in the process of finding a new contractor to complete the remaining civil works of Package-2 of the Orange Line between Chauburji and Ali Town after cancelling the agreement with the contractor.

As per documents available with The Express Tribune, the Package-2 project was awarded to a construction company named Maqbool Calson JV, after a competitive bidding process in September 2015. The firm failed to meet the terms of the contract and left the authority with no option but to terminate the agreement.

The LDA has also seized about Rs900 million earmarked as the contractor’s guarantee – an amount unprecedented in the country’s history. The authority has so far received seven new bids for the remaining work on Package-2.

On October 19, however, it extended the tender submission date by four days till October 24. The decision was taken after Punjab Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) raised a red flag on tender terms. The LDA also increased the time for the completion of remaining civil works from 130 days to 150 days.

No worries

Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan, chairperson of the OLMT project steering committee, told The Express Tribune the government was committed to completing the project on time. He added Chinese contractors have been asked to start laying rail tracks and initiate electrical works at completed sections of the metro track from January 2017.

He maintained simultaneous development activities would help bring the metro train project to fruition. The construction of multi-storey train stations and an underground central station would ensure the timely completion of the project.

Timeframes and progress

Hassaan said the two-member commission – constituted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan to assess the credibility of NESPAK’s heritage impact assessment report on the project – had started working and would submit its report to the apex court within 30 days.

“If the government gets a green signal from the Supreme Court and LDA successfully closes its tender, there will be no major hurdle left,” he said, adding over 50% of ground civil works of the project had already been completed.

Lahore Electricity Supply Company (Lesco) has also initiated construction of new grid stations as the Metro Train would run on 750 volts of electricity.

The power company has vowed to complete work on the grid station well before the project’s completion date.

Without further ado

Habib Construction Services CEO Shahid Saleem, who is the contractor of Package-1 between Dera Gujjran and Chauburji, told The Express Tribune more than 50% of civil works had been completed in Package-1.

“We are committed to completing the project in the shortest possible time,” he said. “As soon as the government gets a go-ahead from the apex court, we will start construction on the remaining portions [near heritage sites].”

Shahid , however, admitted it would be a challenge for the Chinese engineers to complete the installation of rails before the deadline as construction activity had already been delayed by nearly a year.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2016.