Turkish contractors’ employees stage protest demo against LWMC

LAHORE:The employees of Turkish companies Albayrak and Ozpak staged a protest demonstration against the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) in front of Shaheen Complex here on Tuesday.

They chanted slogans against the LWMC and in favour of Pak-Turk ties while holding placards. The senior management of the international contractors, including Project Coordinator Albayrak Cagri Ozel, Project Director Ozpak Afzal Shah, CEO Ozpak Nizamuddin and other officials, also joined the protest demonstration.

Talking to the media, Cagri Ozel said that despite having stay order for machinery and the workshops from the court, the LWMC illegally attacked the workshops of the contractors.

During the intrusion, the LWMC and officials of the City district government and police confiscated machinery worth Rs4 billion. If the LWMC was not satisfied with the performance of its contractors, why an extension was given in the agreement, Ozel said, adding that Turkish companies would keep serving the Lahorites till completion of the contract. During the past two years, the LWMC had not even paid to cover the cost of the operations to its contractors due to which arrears of Rs2.5 billion are pending. Despite this, the contractor companies had not halted the field operations in Lahore. To a question regarding handing over of the machinery, Ozel said that there is no clause in the agreement to return the machinery to the LWMC. On the other hand, Turkish main stream media had also covered the operation of LWMC in which it had taken possession of the workshops and machinery of the Turkish contractors.