LAHORE, March 24: The report on the feasibility of $400 million Light Rail Transit Project is expected to be submitted next month after a three-month delay.

The report was scheduled to be presented to the Traffic and Transport Planning Agency of the Lahore Development Authority in December 2001, and the foreign consortium interested in execution of the project had completed survey of the route accordingly. However, the report has been delayed because Tepa has asked the consortium experts to review the plan keeping in view the buildings and water supply, electricity, gas and telephone lines falling along the proposed route, and make amendments wherever necessary.

The feasibility report is to be approved by the provincial Planning and Development Department rather than Tepa. The consortium will start work on the project after approval by the P&D Department and complete it in a year and a half.

The light transit rail will ply on a 34km route between Shahdara and the new airport via Data Darbar, Nasser Bagh, Shahrah-i-Quaid-i-Azam, Faisal Square, Mozang Chungi, Lahore Bridge (Kot Lakhpat) and Defence Road.

The consortium will build double tracks over roads to prevent collision of trains coming from different directions. The trains will run at speed of upto 100km per hour and will be available at each of the 34 stations on route at three-minute intervals.

The consortium started a survey for the project after signing a memorandum of understanding with the government in August. It will execute the project on a Build, Operate and Transfer basis and hand it over to the government after recovering its investment with profit in 30 to 35 years.