29 October 2004	Friday	14 Ramazan 1425

LAHORE, Oct 28: The construction of the proposed Inter-City Bus Terminal at Thokar Niaz Baig has been further delayed because the Punjab government is not transferring the land selected for the project to the City District Government due to its failure to pay the cost of the tract.

The project was earlier scheduled to be launched by the middle of this year following the completion of the bidding process. But it could not kick off, as the provincial government had refused to transfer the land to the CDG free of cost.

Sources said the CDG had also requested the chief minister for handing over the land free of cost, but he offered it loan facility from the Punjab government for purchasing the land.

They said City District Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood was competent to take the final decision whether to take loan from the provincial government or buy the land through its own resources.

When contacted, Mian Amer said a summary had been submitted to the chief minister, requesting him to provide the land without any charges. However, he maintained, the CDG would accept the chief minister's decision and launch the project accordingly.

When asked that parts of the land proposed for the project had recently been occupied by police, the Nazim said the matter had also been brought into the knowledge of the chief minister for action.

However, a senior officer of the city district administration said the police encroachment was one of the main impediments to launch the project on time. He said the police did not obtain permission for running a training camp from the CDG.

Punjab Transport Secretary Agha Nadeem told Dawn that the police had taken permission from the chief minister.

The site of the terminal has been proposed at the 235-kanal of the defunct Punjab Road Transport Company and about 250-kanal tract in its vicinity.

The plan would be executed on a BOT (built, operate and transfer) basis at a cost of Rs500 million. It would have a capacity to cater about 6,000 buses.

Some six companies have been shortlisted for undertaking the project, but the CDG has yet to give a go-ahead to the selected one.

Owing to extreme congestion on the Badami Bagh Bus Terminal, the provincial government had decided to set up another major inter-city bus terminal at Thokar Niaz Baig in 1997. A private consultant firm prepared its feasibility, but the project could not see the light of the day due to red tape.

The M\s SAMPAK International has prepared the final design of the project, which will provide electricity, water supply system, sewerage and drainage system, security and communication system, police station, fire station, ticketing booths, transporters offices and mosque.

To provide a convenient passage to the traffic along with the inter-city buses, it has been planned to develop a dual Kattar Bund Road from Multan Road to north side of the bus terminal and construction of an additional underpass under the motorway.

There are six major bus terminals located in different parts of the city, besides this one.