Orange train project cost shoots up by Rs50 billion

ISLAMABAD: The long drawn out litigation over the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project, the first of its kind in Pakistan, has shot up its cost by approximately Rs50bln apart from causing a 22-month delay, which is obviously troubling for its sponsor, the Punjab government.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was genuinely thrilled when the Supreme Court gave a green light to the early completion of the mega project, throwing away all hurdles that were put in its way by elements that did not want him to go ahead with his usual speed.

The arguments and counter-arguments consumed a lot of time but the judgment remained reserved for seven months and 24 days, which is evidently a long time. Of the five judges, who were part of the five-member bench, three justices – Ejaz Afzal, Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Ijazul Ahsan – remained busy with the Panama Papers case and could not write down their verdict at an early date.

The ruling in the OLMT appeal was reserved on April 17 this year. The first main judgment in the Panama case was handed down on April 20 in which a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was constituted by the majority judges. Being part of the special three-member bench, Justice Ejaz Afzal, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, had a lot of work to do in this case.

The OLMT is Shahbaz Sharif’s flagship project that he always wanted to conclude before the forthcoming general elections. But he was incapacitated because of the litigation - first in the Lahore High Court and then in the apex court. For evident reasons, by completing the project the chief minister and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) desperately aspired to take credit for this gigantic venture to impress voters.

The moment all the decks were cleared, Shahbaz Sharif kick-started the construction work with the resolve to present a visible shape of the project before upcoming polls. In the months to come, he will be focused on it more than any other venture of his government.

A senior official narrated to The News an interesting story as to how the project was conceived. According to him, a wealthy Chinese businessman had encountered a serious problem at the hands of the Pakistani authorities during the tenure of the second Nawaz Sharif government in the nineties. At the time, Shahbaz Sharif was the chief minister of Punjab for the first time.

The Chinese tycoon was waiting in the VIP lounge at the Karachi airport to fly back home dejected as he failed to convince Pakistani authorities about his case. He had a chance meeting with the chief minister at the airport in which he recounted his tale of woes. Shahbaz Sharif attentively listened to him and assured him to redress his complaint.

The businessman told him that he was willing to cancel his departure to wait for the relief. Shahbaz Sharif talked to the highest authorities in Islamabad, informing them about the hardship needlessly imposed on the business magnet. He explained that this policy was bound to discourage foreign investment in Pakistan. He got a positive response and the Chinese businessman’s difficulty was taken care of.

With the passage of time, the chief minister forgot the episode. However, when he paid a visit to China during his present term, the same businessman had a meeting with him and told him that he wanted to gift something worthwhile to Lahore to return a huge favour he had received from him. Shahbaz Sharif could not even figure out the man and was taken aback by his offer. Finally, the Chinese refreshed his memory.

The businessman explained the gift in the shape of Orange Line Metro Train. The chief minister accepted it promptly. This is how the project was created. After the challenge to the OLMT was taken up by the LHC, it, on 28 January 2016, issued a stay order and suspended all construction activities within the radius of 200 feet of 11 protected immovable antiquity and special sites.

At times, litigation in superior courts over mega projects has caused a colossal burden on the public exchequer apart from delaying their completion. If the courts promptly decide such petitions, the losses and delays can be minimised. Pakistan is already confronted with heavy risks of shelling out billions of dollars as penalty in at least two cases – the Turkish power company and Reko Diq – for cancellation of their contracts. They have gone to international tribunals where Islamabad is at a loss to defend itself.

Apart from the litigation, the PML-N’s political detractors always worked hard to create controversies over the OLMT project and put obstacles. They highlighted the view that the Punjab government was frittering away the public money on such “useless” projects whereas funds were direly needed in many other areas for the general good of the people at large.

However, they were more concerned about the political benefits that the PML-N was going to reap by presenting such behemoth ventures rather than being worried about the “wastage” of public money. But at the end of the day, Shahbaz Sharif has been successful in realising his dream project after getting the approval of the highest court.