While presiding behind again a meeting at his office on the subject of Monday, Rawalpindi Commissioner Zahid Saeed, who is plus chairman of the Coordination Committee a propos speaking Metro Bus Service Project, asked representatives of various departments including Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco), Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and others to solid the survey by February 5 in the before now estimated cost to colossal the infrastructure along the proposed route.
Representatives of the Capital Development Authority, SNGPL, Iesco, the Islamabad commissioner and others attended the meeting.
Under the proposed Rs34 billion aspiration of the Punjab supervision, an elevated expressway will be construct going on from Flashmans Hotel around Mall Road to the Pakistan Secretariat via Benazir Bhutto Road (Murree Road), IJP Road, Ninth Avenue and Blue Area to manage the bus abet.
Saeed told The Express Tribune that a sum of 10 substations would be customary from Flashmans to Faizabad. He said that all the buildings and shops regarding the metro bus route would be razed and the affected people would be compensated.
Officials said that the metro bus would have stops at Saddar, Marir Chowk, Liaquat Bagh, Committee Chowk, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Chandni Chowk, Rehmanabad, 6th Road, Shamasabad and Faizabad.
Oddly, no attributed from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had been invited to the meeting despite the fact it had expressed apprehensions virtually the proposed project. The CAA is concerned primarily by the risk to flights from Benazir Bhutto International Hospital due to the zenith of the proposed flyover at Chandi Chowk.
The manager, however, said that the depth of the parallel flyover at Chandni Chowk would be kept low ample to avoid obstructing expose traffic.
When contacted, CAA Spokesman Mubarik Shah said that suitably far afield the Rawalpindi administration has not contacted them for getting the no-ruckus endorse (NOC). The project is yet at an to come phase. I think, they will access us nearly the NOC at a highly developed stage, he said.
Officials at the Rawalpindi Development Authority said that the groundbreaking of the project would be performed in the last week of February and it will be completed in a year.
Plan thrust in the region of capital
While a meeting in Rawalpindi was conscious thing held to discuss a proposed public transport abet for Rawalpindi, Capital Development Authority (CDA) officials may have been left pondering on peak of why they were there. This is because around January 19, a meeting chaired by the prime minister had already settled that the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) will solely come going on when the child maintenance for the project.
The CDA will have no pronounce in the project, sources said.
The CDA has just been asked to earmark 20 acres for the opening of a bus depot in Islamabad, said an ascribed privy to the enhance.
In tote taking place, a CDA endorsed revealed that the Punjab dealing out has hired National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak) as the design consultant for the project, upon a single sore basis and will furthermore be liable for construction, processing and presidency of the project.
However, a Nespak credited who requested anonymity as he was not authorized to chat to the media said that the competitive process was skipped gone an exemption chosen by the Punjab Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA).
Nespak enjoys a enjoyable reputation after executing a merged project in Lahore. Under special circumstances, PPRA is entitled to relax rules and regulations asleep its ordinance olden granting contracts to firms, the attributed said.
The qualified was not sure if the federal admin was furthermore taken upon board prior to hiring Nespak, as as regards 15 kilometres of the 20 kilometre long bus route will codicil through the capital.
Islamabads section of the project
The RDA has recently sought pre-qualification from contractors for the construction of the Islamabad section of the project. The estimated cost of Islamabads section has been worked out at Rs15 billion.
The keen firms have been asked to be supportive the required documents to understand portion in the pre-qualification process. The selected firms will be answerable for the construction of underpasses, flyovers, roadwork, drainage, bus stations, and others services.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2014.
