LAHORE, Jan 21: The city district government will arrange development of the Multan Road depot of the defunct Punjab Road Transport Corporation into a modern general bus stand for southern Punjab-bound public transport by the private sector on build own and transfer basis by 2005.

The city government will acquire 160 kanals adjacent to the 236-kanal PRTC Multan Road depot to make nearly 400 kanals available for the new bus stand. A sum of Rs10 million has been allocated for consultants preparing the detailed plans for it.

The new bus stand will have the arrival, parking and departure facilities for 2,220 buses and 1,330 flying coaches daily. It will be leased out to the developer for a certain period to facilitate the recovery of investment with an agreed profit.

The developer will have to build parking lots, arrival and departure terminals, a mosque, waiting rooms, a taxi stand, a traffic police kiosk, first-aid post, a petrol pump and a fire-brigade station. A small flyover will also be built on Multan Road for the buses and coaches leaving and entering the bus terminal.

Development of a separate general bus stand on Multan Road has been felt necessary in view of an increase in the volume of public transport plying between the provincial metropolis and the towns and cities of southern Punjab. Hundreds of buses waiting for their turn to pick passengers from the Badami Bagh General Bus Stand are parked along the bus stand roads, along the Ravi Link Road and the Circular Road causing traffic problems at present due to paucity of parking space at the bus stand.

Transport pressure on the Badami Bagh General Bus Stand will reduce considerably following the development of the new bus stand as the space made available after its development will be utilized for providing parking facilities for the buses waiting for their turn to pick the passengers. Traffic congestion on city roads will also reduce considerably as the southern Punjab public transport will stop entering the city.

The 365-kanal Badami Bagh General Bus Stand will also be expanded and remodelled as a modern four-storeyed passenger and freight transit terminal at a cost of Rs80 million for providing parking, arrival and departure facilities for 4,500 buses, flying coaches and wagons used by an average 150,000 passengers daily. The city district government has already allocated Rs10 million for starting work on the project.

The Guddi Ground of the Iqbal Park Sports Complex has been utilized for upgradation of the Ravi Link Road as a two-lane highway for streamlining the traffic flow between the Badami Bagh bus stand and the Ravi bridge. The Ravi Town Nazim office and the old GTS workshop are proposed to be included in the bus stand for providing parking facilities for hundreds of buses, coaches and wagons waiting for their turn for picking passengers round the clock. As many as 21 new bus bays are also proposed to be built in addition to the existing 34 bays.

The bus stand remodelling plan envisages construction of three storeys above the bus bays. Shopping centres will be established on the first floor, offices of transporters on the second and drivers restrooms on the third floor. Tuckshops, dispensaries and waiting halls will also be built for the passengers. Fire fighting and security services will also be available at the bus stand.

Around 4,000 buses, flying coaches and wagons ply between the provincial metropolis and southern and northern Punjab daily for picking and dropping 300,000 to 500,000 passengers. Every bus, coach and wagon has to wait for three to 10 hours for its turn to pick the passengers outside the bus stand. The revenue of the bus stands exceeds Rs50 million, but the CDG spares only Rs10 million for its development and maintenance.