ISLAMABAD: The city managers on Thursday approved the bid of a consultant firm for the metro bus project from Peshawar Mor to the Islamabad International Airport (IIA).

Besides designing the project, the firm will also supervise the construction activities on the track.

The CDA board approved the bid worth Rs36 million of the joint venture of the international and local consultant company.

The corridors and stations of the metro track are already constructed and now soft components of the project such as installation of ticketing system, station management, cleanliness and security system are to be carried out.

The consultant will complete the project in eight months. The consultant firm will design the project and prepare bidding documents for procurement of 30 buses, a ticketing system and operation and station management.

Firm will design project and prepare bidding documents for procurement of 30 buses, says CDA

After preparing the bidding documents and awarding contracts, the firm will also play a supervisory role for the entire project for eight months before handing it over to the CDA.

In March this year, the National Highway Authority (NHA) after construction of the corridor and stations handed over the project to the CDA.

The NHA had launched work on the 25.6-km-long track from Peshawar Mor to IIA worth Rs16 billion in Jan 2017.

The project was supposed to complete in Aug 2018. However, due to slow release of funds, it saw delays. There was also uncertainty about the organisation to run the bus services. And when it was completed, uncertainty revolved around it as NHA had stated that its role was confined only to the construction activity and it had nothing to do with the operation of the metro buses.

The CDA had refused NHA’s and federal government’s request to take over the project stating that being a development authority it was beyond its mandate to run bus services.

Similarly, the Punjab Masstransit Authority, which runs Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Service, also refused to run buses on this track.

To this, the federal government directed the CDA to take over the project.

Meanwhile, it was decided that the federal government will provide funding to the CDA through Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). For the fiscal year 2020-21, the government earmarked Rs300 million for the CDA for the project.

“Today, through circulation the CDA board approved a summary accepting the bid of the consultant firm. After completing other formalities, we will issue work orders for the consultant firm,” said an official of the CDA.

“In eight months, the project will be completed and hopefully during this period buses will start plying on the metro track,” he said and added that currently no public service vans and bus was available from Islamabad to the airport causing difficulty for the commuters.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2021