MULTAN City News

‘98pc work on Multan Metro bus route completed’

From Our Correspondent

MULTAN: Ninety eight per cent work on the Metro bus route has been completed and the service will be available soon for the public in the city.

Talking to The News here on Wednesday, Punjab government Technical Advisor on Metro bus Sabir Khan said that the project was nearly its completion and it was likely that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would inaugurate the Metro bus service in Multan. He told that the Punjab government was spending Rs 28.5 billion on the project to provide the bus facility to the Multan citizens while 21 Metro bus stations had been completed on 18.5km long Metro route. It was expected that 97,000 commuters would enjoy the Metro journey on daily basis, he added. He said that 40-feet wide roads in thickly populated areas had been widened to 100-feet on the Metro route. The Metro bus service was introduced in Multan after Lahore and Rawalpindi to accommodate maximum population with the cheap public transport services, he maintained. Sabir Khan claimed that the Multan Metro project would be more attractive, moderate and impressive than Lahore and Rawalpindi. The Metro stations designs and material used in Multan were quite different from Lahore and Rawalpindi, he informed. The Multan Metro bus uniqueness was its launching pad, elevators, generators, automatic doors and expansion joints imported from Europe, Spain, France, Germany and Italy, he continued. The Metro bus stations internal material was imported from Middle East, he told. The double glazed solar glass was used in the Metro stations from ground to eight feet height to absorb solar temperature, he added. Sabir Khan said that the Metro bus track, carriageway and corridors had been completed while beautification of 21 Metro bus stations was in progress. As many as 14 Metro stations were established on flyovers while rest on the ground, he maintained. Responding to a query, he said that the government had allocated Rs 28.5 billion for the project and out of which Rs 4.25 billion had been distributed among those whose property was affected from the project. He told that 265-Kanal piece of land was reserved for the bus depot. At least 100 schools and colleges were located on the Metro route, Sabir Khan added.