CM pays surprise visit to Rawalpindi to review work on Metro Bus Project

Rawalpindi
For second time in the current month, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday paid a surprise visit and reviewed the pace of work on the Metro Bus Project.
The chief minister travelled from Saddar to Faizabad in a Metro Bus to review track and bus stations.
Shahbaz Sharif arrived at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, and went straight to the Metro Bus Terminal near Flashman’s Hotel. He travelled in the Metro Bus up to Faizabad.
Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Zahid Saeed and Chairman Metro Bus Project Muhammad Hanif Abbasi briefed the chief minister on the construction work. They told the Punjab chief minister that the construction work would be completed soon as contractors were working day and night. They said that 98% of work had been completed and only the reconstruction work on Benazir Bhutto Road and service roads was left. They said that construction work of a portion of Nullah Leh Bridge at Liaquat Bagh would be completed within days.
The chief minister questioned the concerned officials about the heaps of rubble dumped on service roads, which were creating difficulties for motorists and pedestrians. Shahbaz Sharif also talked to labourers and enquired about their problems.
After the visit, Shahbaz Sharif chaired a meeting at the Punjab House on the project in which he directed the concerned authorities to complete the project at the earliest.
He said the provincial government was striving to provide better transport facilities to public. “The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Project will bring about a revolution in the transport sector and result in a speedy, economical, comfortable and safe commuting,” he said.
He said the government was ensuring quality as well as transparency in the mega development projects it was undertaking.
He stated that a revolutionary change would be witnessed in public transport sector after the completion of the project.
Of the total length of the Metro corridor, 8.5km falls in Rawalpindi and 13.9km in Islamabad.
A design consultant of the project said that 139,000 commuters would commute daily between the twin cities — 75,000 from Rawalpindi and 64,000 from Islamabad.
Earlier, the question arose about the ownership of the project in Islamabad after the Capital Development Authority (CDA) showed reluctance to sign the project due to high operational costs.
The operational cost of the Metro Bus Stations would be more in Islamabad as it has 14 stations as compared to 10 in Rawalpindi.
Punjab would collect revenue from the sale of tickets for travel between Saddar and Faizabad and the Centre will get the revenue collected from commuters travelling between Faizabad and Pak Secretariat.
The revenue collected from passengers travelling between the twin cities would be shared equally by the Punjab and federal governments and one way ticket would cost Rs20.
Preparations for inauguration of the state-of-the-art Metro Bus Service are in full swing. The Capital Development Authority (CDA), Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and other relevant departments are busy in making arrangements for its inauguration. Air-conditioned sitting arrangements had also been made for passengers. A central control system would monitor the Metro Bus Service.
As many as 64 buses would ply on the Metro Bus route between the twin cities, while a total of 24 modern bus stations have been built on the track.