SC gives two weeks to complete OLMT

Court directs construction companies to submit guarantees of Rs10m each

ISLAMABAD: Expressing its displeasure over the delay in the completion of the Orange Line Metro Train project, the Supreme Court on Friday gave two more weeks to the three construction companies involved in the project to finish it.

A two-member bench, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed, ordered the companies to submit guarantees of Rs10 million each.

The guarantees will be forfeited if the project is not finished by May 20.

The court also said either Justice retired Jamshed or Justice Abdul Sattar Asghar should be appointed the head of the project’s technical committee.



It added that if Justice Zahid Hussain, the incumbent head of the committee, wanted to continue in that capacity, the Punjab government should review the matter.

The court expressed its annoyance with project director Fazal Haleem. “If the contractors are not working, fire them or send them behind bars,” Justice Gulzar told the project director. You are being blackmailed by the construction companies and that’s causing the delay,” he added.

Naeem Bukhari, the counsel for the companies, argued that his clients could not submit the Rs10 million guarantees.

He added that the companies had already submitted guarantees of Rs20 million and were yet to receive Rs15 million in dues.

Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan reminded Bukhari that the project was of national importance and a large sum of money had been spent on it.

Justice Gulzar inquired about the quality control mechanism in place for the project, hoping that it would not “come crashing down”.



Justice Gulzar inquired about the quality control mechanism in place for the project, hoping that it would not “come crashing down”.

The project director informed him that consultants were monitoring the construction work.

The judge observed that the construction companies were unable to finish the project and repeatedly asking the court to extend the deadline.

Bukhari assured the court that project would be finished within two weeks and it could send his clients to jail if they failed to do so.

The hearing was adjourned for two weeks.

The Orange Line Metro Train Project is part of Lahore’s metro network and when completed, it would connect Raiwind, Multan Road, McLeod Road, Lahore Junction Railway Station and the Grand Trunk Road. It would be the first line of the Lahore Metro, the country’s first mass rapid transit train system.