Rapid mass transit system: Survey delayed third time
It was expected that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Board would award the tender to one of the two shortlisted firms in its meeting on Tuesday. The project was for a feasibility study for the transit system in the twin cities, including underground, on-ground and overhead travelling options.
This is the third time that the civic body has delayed the survey. Every delay adds to the project cost, official sources inside CDA said.
However, the board approved a proposal for a Rapid Bus Service, part of the rapid mass transit system. The bus service would take about six months to be implemented, according to the briefing given by CDA’s Traffic and Engineering Department at the meeting, an official told The Express Tribune.
The next step in implementing the bus service involves a survey and settling of the terms of reference, which describe the purpose of a project. In this case the terms of reference will include parameters such as occupancy and travel time, origin and destination, public transport, and points where passengers can get on and off the buses.
Imtiaz Inayat Elahi, CDA’s chairperson, said that the proposed bus service would provide better travelling opportunities to the residents of the twin cities. The fare will be reasonable and 30 buses will be introduced in the first phase, he added.
The population of the twin cities is growing at a rate of more than four per cent per year, according to reports. This is twice as much as the national growth rate (1.6 per cent), which points to a significant migration to the twin cities and a potentially disastrous situation given the less-than-adequate transport infrastructure at present.
CDA had received proposals from five consultant firms on the feasibility study of a rapid mass transit system for Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
“After open tendering, files of two potential companies had been forwarded to the CDA Board. After analysing the financial situation the board deferred this project indefinitely,” a CDA official said.
This is not the first time such a project had been brought into discussion and then deferred. Recently CDA officials had said that the body will award the feasibility study to a new firm soon and it would take at least eight months to complete.
Before that, in 2008, the civic body had awarded the feasibility study of a rapid mass transit system to Rejler, a Swedish firm. The firm later backed out citing security concerns.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2010.
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