ISLAMABAD: The National Highway Authority (NHA) has initiated the process to hand over the Peshawar Mor metro bus project to Islamabad International Airport (IIA) to the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
The National Highway Authority (NHA) has started the process to hand over the metro bus project from Peshawar Mor to Islamabad International Airport (IIA) to the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
— Punjab Updates (@PunjabUpdates) March 9, 2021
The NHA has carried out the construction work and, after taking over, the CDA will run the bus service.
Sources said five metro stations were handed over to the CDA on Monday. A few days ago, the NHA also delivered part of the subway line from Peshawar Mor to the railway bridge. In the second phase, the two remaining stations and the main platform will be handed over to the CDA.
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Before starting the bus service, CDA will install ticketing and information technology systems at the bus stations. The civic agency began taking over the project by order of the federal government. The federal cabinet recently ordered Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed to work out a plan for the handover and taking over of the project.
Last year, the CDA also obtained Rs 1.9 billion PC-1 approvals for the purchase of 30 buses and established a ticketing, command and control system. Its officials said the civic agency had been making efforts to get the federal government to release funds for the purchase of 30 buses.
They said that once the entire project is transferred to the CDA, as an interim agreement, the civic agency could request the Islamabad, Rawalpindi metro bus service to put some buses on the route until CDA acquires the buses.
Officials said the acquisition of specific buses for the metro track would take time as the buses would be manufactured.
The NHA began work on the 25.6 km long track from Peshawar Mor to IIA worth Rs 16 billion in January 2017. The project was due to be completed in August 2018. However, due to the slow release of the funds, the project was delayed.
There was also uncertainty about the organization to manage the bus services. The NHA had said it should only complete the civil works while the CDA was of the opinion that, being a development agency, its job was not to run a bus service.
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Likewise, the Punjab Mass Transportation Authority, also refused to take responsibility for driving the buses on this route a few years ago. However, the federal government ordered the CDA to operate the bus service.
NHA officials said the project was nearing completion and the remaining finishing touches, such as electrical work, would be completed soon. They said that due to the slow release of funds, the project was slightly delayed, but the administration in charge of the NHA accelerated the work.
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