Stayed without a stay: OLMT construction on hold despite SC green signal

LDA orders civil contractors to take utmost care while working at heritage sites

LAHORE: The Supreme Court of Pakistan may have given a green signal to the Punjab government for completion of the Lahore Orange Line Metro (OLMT) project, but development works near heritage sites had not started even seven days after the decision.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on Saturday, an executive of a local contracting company said the government and city developers were rather concerned about the safety of heritage sites as the apex court had imposed 31 conditions in its decision. The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) had government directed civil contractors to take maximum precautions to avoid any damage to heritage sites by construction works, he said.

OLMT Package-1 contractor Shahid Saleem, said, “Though temporary scaffolding has been erected to safeguard the structure of Lakshmi Mansion and tarpaulin have been installed to cover the exterior of Shalimar Gardens and other heritage sites, the LDA has not allowed contractors to initiate construction near them.”

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was not in the country over the last week as he was attending the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) meeting in Turkey. On his return, city developers planned to inform him about the precautionary measures after which work would kick off on the remaining sections of the metro train track.

Responding to a question, he said the company has already completed most civil works on Grand Trunk Road and only 85 piles needed to be erected for the construction of the elevated metro train track near Shalimar Garden.



He added 31 piles were left near Lakshmi Mansion after which the elevated track between Dera Gujran and Lakshmi Mansion would be completed. “Once the provincial government gives a go ahead, the company will also initiate construction of the underground Central Station near General Post Office (GPO) on Mall Road,” he maintained.

The project contractor has to close the Mall Road for construction of the underground tract and metro station, but engineers working on the project believe it will cause a traffic mess and inconvenience to citizens. They say alternate roads like Copper Road, Nicholson Road and other adjoining routes have already been dug up by the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) to lay the main sewerage pipe for handling rainwater which accumulated at Lakshmi Chowk and on Mall Road near the GPO.

Saleem highlighted to heritage sites. He pointed out that city developers had already directed WASA to complete its development works and refill all dug up areas in a week’s time so that construction activity of the Central Station could get underway.

The 27-kilometre Orange Line Metro Train Project is being funded through a $1.65 billion soft loan through from China’s Exim Banks. Project documents indicate around $1 billion would be directly transferred to the Chinese contractors, CR-NORINCO, for procurement of the rolling stock while the remaining amount would be transferred to the Pakistan government for the construction of track and provision of allied infrastructure.

The project is part of the city metro network and when completed, will connect Raiwind, Multan Road, Mcleod Road, Lahore Junction Railway Station and the Grand Trunk Road. It will be the first line of the Lahore Metro, which is country’s first mass rapid transit train system.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th, 2017.