Ministries directed to ensure early operationalisation of Islamabad Metro service

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has directed the interior and communication ministries to devise a plan to operationalise Islamabad Metro Bus Service on a priority basis, it was learnt on Friday.

According to sources, the federal cabinet has directed the ministries to devise a plan to operationalise Metro bus service from Peshawar Morr to New International Islamabad Airport (NIIA) at the earliest in order to provide smooth travel services to passengers.

Sources said the infrastructure work and installation of electromechanical components of the project were completed one year ago but the project could not be handed over to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) as certain formalities were not fulfilled.

They said that one of the major problems was “lack of buses” for the route, adding that CDA had proposed to use surplus buses of Rawalpindi-Islamabad bus service for Islamabad Metro bus project.

The CDA would assume the possession of the project after all formalities, including the availability of buses, were fulfilled, they added.

Sources said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken serious notice of the delay in the operationalisation of the project and directed the officials concerned to expedite measures in this regard. The project could be operationalised with the provision of ten buses, while 20 additional buses were available in the depot of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro.

Ahmad Ahmadani
Ahmad Ahmadani
The author is a an investigative journalist at Profit. He can be reached at [email protected].

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