ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development, and Reform was informed on Tuesday that the work on Metro Bus Service from Peshawar Morr to Islamabad International Airport had almost been completed 90 percent and the rest of the work would be completed soon.
Briefing the committee, the National Highway Authority (NHA) chairman said the government had provided Rs1,250 million funds under Public Sector Development Programme and an additional Rs3,300 million would be required to complete the project.
He said the planning minister had directed to complete the work within the stipulated time frame in a bid to save the cost of the project.
The committee was also told that a mega drainage system project from Sehwan to sea was under construction and it would be completed in two years.
The committee was informed that the cost of the project escalated from Rs14 billion to Rs62 billion due to burgeoning inflation in the country.
It was informed that the total length of the project was 273 km and almost 202 contractors were involved in this billion rupees project.
It was informed that the project was paramount importance and would help to address the drainage issues of the city.
The representatives of the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) informed the committee that Rs2 billion was outstanding dues against the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) Sehwan but the organization was still working on the project.
The Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) chairman told the meeting that due to deficiencies in PC-I, a number of projects had been delayed and their cost had been increased to many a fold.
He proposed the need to formulate a comprehensive policy by taking all the aspects to avoid unnecessary delays over any project for saving the cost of the project.
Among others, the meeting was attended by the senators Mir Kabeer Ahmed, Rukhsana Zuberi, Sassui Palijo, planning, FWO, irrigation and PEC officials.
