Fate of metro bus extension hangs in balance

New govt has the tough task of finding an operator to run the service

ISLAMABAD: Even as the new government launches probes into the construction of expensive bus projects built by the previous administration in different parts of the country, the fate of an extension of the existing metro bus project in the capital hangs in the balance.

The previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had decided to extend the metro bus service — which connects Rawalpindi with Islamabad — to the new Islamabad International Airport to facilitate passengers.OLMT most cost-intensive project in world

Work on the Rs16.43 billion project had begun in April 2017 and was slated to be completed at around the same time as the IIA — August 2017. However, it has since run into snags, delaying its completion.

The project would have seen the construction of a dedicated, two-lane, signal-free corridor with 9.6–10.4 meter-wide sections on the ground and in trenches and 22.5 – 23.7 metre-wide at the stations. Moreover, a three-lane carriageway with shoulders on either side of the metro corridor from the Golra Morr Interchange to the Grand Trunk (GT) Road Interchange would be built to ensure the free flow of traffic and turnings along with the construction of flyovers and underpasses on existing roads and allied works.

After missing several deadlines, work on the infrastructure of the 25.6 kilometre-long project — from Peshawar Mor to the IIA — is expected to be completed by the end of September, with only work on the stations left.

But the project is facing problems in other areas, particularly, who will operate the service.

“The previous government could not manage to convince any government transportation department — either at the federal or at the provincial level — to operate the metro bus service on the newly constructed route,” said an official privy to the developments of the project.

The PML-N government had previously approached the Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMTA) to operate the bus service, but they refused to do so. Thereafter, the government had turned to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) but was once again turned away.

In the end, it had asked the National Highway Authority (NHA) to operate the service. NHA officials too turned down the request, stating that they were responsible for building roads and highways, not operating a bus service.

“Now, all hopes are attached with the new Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government to look into this matter on a priority basis and resolve it. Otherwise, there are fears that a project worth of billions of rupees may go to waste,” the official warned.



He added that the project was originally slated to have been completed in August last year but it failed to meet the deadline. With a year now passing since its original deadline, the fate of the project is still hanging in the balance.

“Work on the metro stations is in progress but it is quite slow, while the roads [for the project] have been built from Peshawar Mor to IIA,” the official said.

Currently, there is no transport service — either public or private —which shuttles passengers between the capital and the new airport. Passengers or the attendants visiting the airport to see off or receive their relatives or friends have to rely on private vehicles or on ride-hailing services which are not affordable for many.

Moreover, drivers of application-based private cab services either refuse to take passengers to the airport or demand extra money for the trip.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2018.