CDA shows inability to purchase buses for new airport metro service

Islamabad : The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has expressed its inability to purchase buses to be operated on yet to be completed ‘Peshawar Mor-New Islamabad International Airport’ section of the metro bus service.

The sources in the CDA told ‘The News’ that the National Highway Authority (NHA) wrote a letter to the CDA to take over the operations to manage and operate the Metro Bus Service on this section and was asked to purchase 38 new buses to operate on this, still under construction, section of Metro Line.

“The CDA has informed the concerned offices about the inability to purchase buses from its own resources. We have informed them that the buses to be operated on this new Metro Line should be purchased by the concerned Transport Authority,” the CDA sources said.

“The CDA wrote a letter to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat towards the end of November (29 or 30th), 2018, expressing their inability to take up the operations of Metro Bus Service.

“The Prime Minister’s Secretariat was informed that operating Metro Bus Service was beyond the mandate of the CDA, which is a development body. Besides, the CDA does not have enough funds and manpower for managing such operations,” the CDA sources said.

“The Prime Minister’s office was informed that the Islamabad Capital Territory Transport Authority or the Islamabad Municipal Corporation (IMC) could be better organizations to manage the operations of this Metro Bus Service because the whole length is within the limits of the ICP,” the CDA sources added.

Meanwhile, the sources in the National Highway Authority (NHA) said that the road for the Metro Bus Service from Peshawar Mor to the New Islamabad International Airport has been completed in all respects and now the construction work is continuing on the 8 landing terminals.

“There was a brief lull in the construction activity when the government changed because of release of required funds. However, that has been sorted out now and the construction work on these 8 landing terminals has resumed. All these terminals are at different stages of completion,” the NHA sources told ‘The News’.

The NHA sources said that there are a total of 12 landing stations approved for construction but in the first phase only 8 will be constructed. Rest of the four landing stations will be constructed on the route beyond the G.T. Road (G-14) when the need would be felt for facilitating the population in adjacent areas, which, presently are not as populated.

The other issue to make this project operational is as to who will be managing it. Earlier, it was the Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMTA), which was supposed to take over the operations.

However, the PMTA has expressed their inability to manage and operate this metro service in the federal capital and now the government has to review the situation and find some other agency to manage and operate this metro service.