Punjab government has revised the masterplan of Lahore Orange Line Metro Train System in order to reduce the project cost.
Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) had opposed the project during the previous government’s tenure, calling it a ‘white elephant’ for the national exchequer.
The current government is still reluctant to continue with the project as it will require billions of rupees in subsidies on an annual basis like the Metro Bus project.
Trying to cut down the cost, the provincial government has decided to drop the 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 the Anarkali area to the MAO college and a Walkalator from Lahore Railway Station to Metro Station. Both projects have been scrapped to save money.
The decision was taken to control the project cost, which has already gone up by 50 percent due to delays in construction.
According to an official of the Punjab Mass Transit Authority, such delays have added another Rs. 11 billion to the project’s cost. With this, the estimated 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, and it’s all on the incumbent government as to when they want to complete the rest of the work and inaugurate it for the public.
