Punjab government has revised the masterplan of Lahore Orange Line MetroTrain System in order to reduce the project cost.
Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) had opposed the project during the previousgovernment’s tenure, calling it a ‘white elephant’ for the nationalexchequer.
The current government is still reluctant to continue with the project asit will require billions of rupees in subsidies on an annual basis like theMetro Bus project.
Trying to cut down the cost, the provincial government has decided to dropthe idea of connecting Orange Line with Metro Bus on two spots in the city.
The government was required to build a passenger transit system from theAnarkali area to the MAO college and a Walkalator from Lahore RailwayStation to Metro Station. Both projects have been scrapped to save money.
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The decision was taken to control the project cost, which has already goneup by 50 percent due to delays in construction.
According to an official of the Punjab Mass Transit Authority, such delayshave added another Rs. 11 billion to the project’s cost. With this, theestimated cost of Rs. 22 billion has now ballooned to Rs. 33 billion.
Officials say that 96.5 percent work on Orange Line has been completed, andit’s all on the incumbent government as to when they want to complete therest of the work and inaugurate it for the public
