ISLAMABAD: Construction and civil work on the metro bus track from Peshawar Mor to the Islamabad International Airport (IIA) will now be completed in February next year, but the operation of the bus service remains uncertain.

The three main authorities involved in the project – the National Highway Authority (NHA), Punjab Masstransit Authority (PMA) and Capital Development Authority (CDA) – have already refused to run the service between Peshawar Mor and the airport.

The NHA is executing the Rs16 billion project to construct a 25.6 kilometre track.

NHA Member Engineering Arbab Ali told a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Reform on Monday that both components of the project – construction as well as electric and mechanical – would be completed by February 2020.

The project began in January 2017 and was supposed to be completed first in August 2018 and then in December 2018.

Discussing the operation of the service, Mr Ali told the committee that the NHA is only supposed to carry out development work and according to the PC-I, the PMA is supposed to operate the service.

He said it was later proposed that the PMA and CDA would run the service, but a crucial meeting of stakeholders and the principal secretary to the prime minister that was scheduled to be held in July was not held. He said the question of who will run the bus service will be decided when the meeting is held.

The PMA, which runs the metro bus service between Rawalpindi and Islamabad, has deemed the service from Peshawar Mor to IIA to be financially unfeasible, while the CDA being a development agency has already refused to take responsibility for the operation of the service in the capital.

Mr Ali told the committee that the project has three packages. Of these, package three has been completed, and 88pc of package two and 96pc of package one are complete.

As far as electric and mechanical work is concerned, the installation of escalators and so on has not yet been carried out, he said.

The committee directed the NHA to complete the project in accordance with the new assurance and said there should be no further delay.

After the standing committee meeting, Mr Ali told Dawn the project’s completion was delayed because of a funding shortage. He said the issue has now been resolved and the project will be completed by February.

While discussing other development projects in the country, the standing committee also called for projects to be prioritised better and recommended that old projects be completed before new ones are initiated to overcome the overrun of time and cost.

The committee decided to hold a detailed briefing by the NHA regarding the month-wide increase in toll tax and its percentage during the last year as well as land acquisition methods and payments.

Senators were told that many land acquisition problems stem from centuries old legislation that needs to be amended according to modern requirements.

During a briefing on the delay is execution and the cost escalation of a project titled Construction/Upgradation of Dirgi Shabzai (N70) to Taunsa Road (N55), Balochistan, the committee learned that the project remains incomplete after several years.

The committee directed the Planning Commission and Engineering Council to look into the project and fix responsibility on those allegedly involved in extending the scope of the project.

Committee chair Senator Agha Shahzaib Durrani and members senators Rana Maqbool Ahmed, Rukhsana Zuberi and Gianchand were surprised to learn that six new bridges and 205 culverts box were added to the project after the PC-I was approved, which they said warrants inquiry.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2019