Orange Line; No cost escalation due to fixed-rate contract, says Punjab govt

ISLAMABAD: The Punjab government is claiming that it has started implementing the Supreme Court’s conditions to continue work on the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT). However, the provincial government is waiting for the apex court to nominate a retired SC Judge for the monitoring the process.

Talking to The News, Punjab government spokesman Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan said, “The best thing about this project is that despite being delayed for eight months, the financial cost of the Orange Line Metro Train project has not escalated. The provincial government will not have to pay the interest for the eight months because this is a fixed-rate contract,” he claimed.

He said the provincial government had already initiated certain measures to fulfil the Supreme Court’s conditions to continue the construction.

“The Punjab government has no objection on any single condition of the apex court. In fact, we were already working on these things which now have been highlighted by the Supreme Court. The provincial government was taking all these measures to make this project a success. However, all these precautionary measures were not in any written form and we are happy the apex court has given go-ahead with certain conditions. We have started implementing these conditions and procuring all the technical equipment required for monitoring the construction work,” Malik Ahmed said.

According to the spokesman, the provincial government is procuring the checking meters that measure noise, cracks and vibration. But these meters are not available in Pakistan and, therefore, would be imported.

He said the government had started shifting the parking areas and the work on renovating the historic sites had been commenced. As per the apex court’s conditions the provincial government had also set up a fund for repair and renovation of the heritage sites, he added.

“As per terms and conditions of the agreement, the OLMT project repayment schedule will start after the seven years. There is a seven-month grace period for repayment, hence there is no escalation of project cost due to delay in construction,” informed the Punjab government spokesman.

It is pertinent to mention that the apex court on December 8 announced the much-awaited judgement and ordered the Punjab government to resume construction on the project and complete it by the planned date.

The superior court also imposed 31 conditions which include formation of two technical committees for monitoring the technical aspects.

According to the judgment, one committee comprising a senior archaeology professor from Punjab University and a senior judge nominated by the chief justice would determine if any of the heritage buildings have suffered any damage due to construction work. The provincial government will give Rs 130 million funds to this committee for the purpose of repair and renovation of the heritage sites.

Similarly, the second committee will assess any losses suffered due to the suspension of construction work due to the LHC decision.