RAWALPINDI: The metro bus is not going to hit the road on January 31 as announced by the Punjab government due to the slow pace of work from Liaquat Bagh to 6th Road by the National Logistics Cell (NLC).

The work on this portion of the project is likely to complete by March. “The two main reasons for the delay are the slow pace of work by the military-run NLC from Liaquat Bagh to 6th Road and Zahir Khan Brothers from Marrir Chowk to Liaquat Bagh,” a senior official of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) told Dawn.

The slow work by the NLC has forced the RDA to contact the quarters master general (QMG) at the General Headquarters (GHQ).

“A QMG team visited two sections of the project, one in Rawalpindi and the other at Peshawar Mor, and asked the contractor - NLC - to speed up the work.” He said the NLC failed to complete the elevated corridor and the bus stations, especially at Committee Chowk and Waris Khan. He said in the past Zahir Khan and Brothers and Habib Construction were sub-contractors of the NLC for different projects, including the 6th Road and Chandni Chowk flyovers. However, for the metro bus project they entered the open bidding and got separate contracts.

“But instead of giving the sub-contract to another company, the NLC decided to launch the work on its own. However, it failed to complete the work as per the requirement of the RDA.” The official said the NLC constructed more than five pillars for the elevated road on Murree Road in an irregular shape forcing the consultant - Nespak - to direct it to reconstruct them.

Work on some portions of the bus track may not finish until March end

He said the NLC was yet to lay eight girders on the pillars from Committee Chowk to Naz Cinema Chowk. The bus stations at Committee Chowk and Waris Khan are also to be completed. At Peshawar Mor, the contractor constructed only the metro bus corridor but failed to complete the intersection.

“Though Peshawar Mor intersection is a separate component worth Rs7 billion, it was also given to the NLC. The contractor sought time and the provincial government agreed, asking the NLC to complete the intersection after the launch of the metro bus service.”

He said Zahir Khan and Brothers managed to get the contracts of four sections - Saddar to Committee Chowk, 6th Road to Faizabad, from Centaurs to Shaheed-i-Millat Road and from Shaheed-i-Milat Road to Pakistan Secretariat under the name of its proxy company, Lemac-Reliable.

“Due to this, the attention of the contractor was diverted to four sections. Though the contractor completed the corridor of the elevated road, it failed to finish the Moti Mahal bridge and a bus station on 7th Avenue and some work on Parade Lane,” he said.

Another official of the RDA said the work on the elevated road and the bus stations would take two more months. “The construction of the elevated road and the re-carpeting of the Murree Road are likely to complete by March end,” he said.

When contacted, Commissioner Zahid Saeed, who is also the project director, said the RDA was trying to complete the project by January 31 but there was still some work to be finished on section two - from Liaquat Bagh to Naz Cinema.

“The NLC is yet to finish the work on the girder installation and bus stations. We asked the contractors to give final touches to the elevated road so that the bus service can be launched on the stipulated time.”

However, he said it would be better to launch the bus service a week or two late instead of completing the work in a hurry.

Published in Dawn January 19th , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play