City govt receives 61 buses of Metro Bus Service Project

[Salman]

Rawalpindi

The city district government Rawalpindi has received over 61 buses out of total 68 which are standing in the main depot of Islamabad. Similarly, remaining 7 buses would also arrive in next couple of days.

Talking exclusively to ‘The News’ here Tuesday, official spokesman for Metro Bus Service Project and Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Hafiz Irfan told this scribe each bus has the facility of accommodating 100 passengers. He told that work on installation of elevators at all Bus stand points has been completed including Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The spokesman replying to a question about completion date of the project told that more than 90 per cent work on elevated part has been completed. There is great possibility that the remaining 10 per cent work would also be completed by the end of February. However, he reserved his comments over the inauguration date of the project. Work on the project on all packages is being done on speedy note and there is possibility that it would be over by the end of February, this year, he told.

He told that the authorities failed to achieve the time frame of January 31, 2015 because of addition of components like Control Command Centre, Peshawar Morr Interchange Link and Underpass at Rialto Chowk. In the middle of work on project another component of laying new drainage and sewerage pipelines in the city was added. He told that 95 per cent work on drainage and sewerage pipes has been completed.

Though the spokesman told that the component of Peshawar Morr Interchange Link was added which became one of the factor in delay of project completion, at the same time, the spokesman told that it would be inaugurated on March 23, this year. Similarly, he told that work on reconstruction and carpeting of entire Benazir Bhutto Road would be carried over even after operation of Metro Bus service.

Reacting to a question, he said that work on carpeting of roads has commenced near Committee Chowk and still 18 to 19 days left for the deadline of the project so all work will be finished by then.

To a query the spokesman said that extending the routes of project up to Kutcheri Chowk and Rawat would be made according to the need and demand. Similarly, conversion of Metro Bus Project into Metro Train Service is also compatible whenever one feels it is necessary in future. The MBP has been designed and prepared in such a way which enables, the successive governments and authorities to operate Metro Train Services whenever it is needed, he told.

Though the Project Director of MBP, Commissioner, Zahid Saeed and Chairman of the Implementation Sub Committee of Project, Hanif Abbasi, are sure that MBP would now be completed by the end of February, this year, however, higher officials related to the project have still expressed their apprehensions in this regard.

Talking to this correspondent, several officials as well as labourers and other staff on work requesting not to be named told that they see no possibility that the work on project would be over by the end of February 28. Rather still sufficient work remains to be done. It would take more than a month to complete the project, they told.

They told the entire project could be over by mid March and it would be inaugurated on March 23, this year. Before this period, they see no chance of the project completion, the officials confirmed.

According to officials besides other factors, work of painting the elevated express section and other parts still remains to be done which would take a good time to complete. Besides other major reasons, shortage of required staff is also one big factor that the authorities have failed to meet deadlines of the project, the officials contended.

Similarly, Project Manager of Package-II, Peshawar Morr Interchange Link, Major ® Tajamul Hussein while commenting over the issue said that work on his package would still take another 15 to 20 days for completion. It is a big component of the project including construction of flyovers and underpasses.

He said that due to several constraints, work on his package remained delayed including removal of water pipe lines by CDA and electric poles by Wapda. Moreover, the presence of Sunday Bazaar at the site also remained one of the main factor in carrying work on speedy basis. He said that the Commissioner Rawalpindi, Zahid Saeed and Chairman of Implementation Sub Committee, Hanif Abbasi want the work on the project to be completed on new schedule date , however, due to hurdles scope of work extends. Without denying that the project would be implemented on March 23, this year, Major Tajamul told that the MBP is bigger than the Zero Point Interchange. As such it takes time to complete such mega projects, he added.