RAWALPINDI: Having already missed the first deadline for completion, the Metro Bus Implementation Committee has decided to open an incomplete service at the end of March.

The last portion of the metro bus track, from Parade Lane to Pakistan Secretariat, is unlikely to be completed by the deadline so the committee has decided to open without this section.

Metro Bus Project worth Rs44.21 billion was due to be completed by January 31, but work could not be completed on many portions.

The chairman of the implementation committee, Hanif Abbasi, told Dawn that recent rains had caused hurdles in construction work and since more rains are expected, the project is likely to face further delays.

“Earlier, the political sit-ins in front of the Parliament caused delays in construction work. Now rainwater has accumulated at the project site and halted work all together. It would take at least two more days to drain water and start work,” he said.

Mr Abbasi said the contractors had been given until March 10 to complete work in Islamabad but this was dependent on clear whether. “In Rawalpindi, asphalt work has begun on the elevated road from Saddar to Faizabad, excluding the portion from Committee Chowk to Chandni Chowk,” he said.

He added that work in Rawalpindi likely to be completed by the end of March.

Mr Abbasi explained that rain had hindered the construction of drains as well as work on bus stations. He said the provincial government wants to open the bus service as soon as possible, but is not willing to compromise on quality.

He said the RDA has decided to open the service without the completion of the last stop at Pakistan Secretariat on the Metro Bus, as the water channel on Constitution Avenue is likely to take time to complete.

“The metro bus will run from Saddar to Parade Avenue. The underpass and bus station from Parade Avenue to Pakistan Secretariat would be completed by the end of April,” he said.

Mr Abbasi said the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has convened a meeting of RDA, contractors and local administration on March 10. “The date and venue for inauguration would be decided in the meeting, after a progress review,” he said.

Meanwhile, former PML-N MNA and member of Metro Bus Project Implementation Committee Malik Shakil Awan raised objections regarding the quality of work on the drains at Murree Road.

“The contractors are working in a hurry and neglecting quality. Most drains constructed along Murree Road from Waris Khan to Liaquat Bagh are of poor quality. During recent rains, water entered houses,” Mr Awan told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2015

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