Orange Line Metro Train project

[Syed1]

ISLAMABAD: The controversial Orange Line Metro Train project will not be able to meet its Dec 2017 completion deadline, a senior technical expert associated with the project told Dawn.

Work on package-II of the project has been on hold after the Punjab government cancelled the contract awarded to the Maqbool and Calson Joint Venture (MCJV) and re-tendered the project to another firm, Zahir Khan & Brothers (ZKB).

Following the cancellation of the contract, the aggrieved side moved the Lahore High Court. According to the contractor’s counsel, the high court had on Oct 20 issued an order restraining the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) from announcing the name of the successful bidder in the re-tendering.

But the authority announced the name of the successful bidder, claiming that MCJV’s contract was cancelled due to ‘slow pace’ of their work.

The 27km Orange Line project is divided into two packages; one is being executed by Habib Construction, while the other – which includes the route from Chauburji to Ali Town – was originally awarded to MCJV.

The LDA says that while both Habib Construction and MCJV have completed 52 per cent of their work, no work is currently being done on package-II since the matter is in the court.

LDA Chief Engineer Israr Saeed admitted that the project would be delayed by the litigation and the authority would not be able to meet its Dec 2017 deadline. “A month-and-a-half has already been wasted and this case may eat up more time,” he said.

Asked why MCJV had been removed from the project, he said they were quite slow in their work. Although he conceded that the firm had completed 52pc of work, “they had no intention to compete the remaining 48pc”.

When asked why the contract was re-tendered to ZKB, which is already executing a number of development and road projects across the country, the LDA chief engineer said the company had submitted the lowest bid and won the contract. “We want to give new firms a chance, but they cannot meet our pace requirements,” he said.

MCJV’s Masood Shah claimed that their firm was to carry out work worth Rs26 billion and had completed jobs worth Rs18bn. However, the LDA awarded a fresh Rs11bn contract to ZKB, he claimed.

Mr Shah also alleged that two MCJV yards had been occupied by the authority and said the contractor had been forcibly evicted from the construction site.

The Orange Line project has already faced delays because of litigation from conservationists and members of civil society over the danger posed to national and cultural heritage sites in Lahore.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1297646/orange-line-project-may-miss-deadline

 

[Syed1]

So the contractor had completed work worth Rs 18b of the total Rs 26b, meaning only Rs8b was left, however their contract was cancelled and a new contract issued for Rs 11b to complete the remainder of the work. Whose pocket are those extra Rs 3b going into?


Mein sadqay jaaon Khadim-e-Aala ki din dihaari chori pe.

 

[WebGuru]

According to reports funds of Health and Education were being spent to finish this project asap.

 

[Syed1]

According to reports funds of Health and Education were being spent to finish this project asap.

Funds for other parts of Punjab were also cut for this project.

 

[Slog]

[MENTION=107753]uberkoen[/MENTION]. thoughts?

 

[DrSchultz]

Pretty obvious that the contract was canceled due to slow pace of work. GT road section being constructed by HCS is on full construction mode while these maqbool calson folks can't build their end of the multan road package.
No conspiracy to find here...

 

[uberkoen]

[MENTION=107753]uberkoen[/MENTION]. thoughts?

I've always said infrastructure development is crucial. However, the way the work is being done on the Orange Line is horrendous. Poor planning and money being thrown away. Also, I know for a fact that the budget for this is coming out of various other projects. Obviously, this is inexcusable.

I'm not sure what the reason for the delay is though. I know a couple of months or so a go the courts also ordered the project to stop due to the threats faced by various heritage sites. Is that the reason for the delay or is it just because of the inaptness of the construction companies involved?

Overall though, it needs to be assessed what this increase cost of changing the construction companies mid-project is going to end up costing.

From what I read about the project though, at the beginning, that the overall construction price of the project was very competitive compared to other similar projects. What these cost overruns and delays will do, I do not know.

If you're asking me in general what my opinion is about the overall project then I will say that this is a necessity and I completely support this project because it comes with a lot of benefits. However, I think it could have been planned and executed in a much much better way.

 

[Slog]

I've always said infrastructure development is crucial. However, the way the work is being done on the Orange Line is horrendous. Poor planning and money being thrown away. Also, I know for a fact that the budget for this is coming out of various other projects. Obviously, this is inexcusable.

I'm not sure what the reason for the delay is though. I know a couple of months or so a go the courts also ordered the project to stop due to the threats faced by various heritage sites. Is that the reason for the delay or is it just because of the inaptness of the construction companies involved?

Overall though, it needs to be assessed what this increase cost of changing the construction companies mid-project is going to end up costing.

From what I read about the project though, at the beginning, that the overall construction price of the project was very competitive compared to other similar projects. What these cost overruns and delays will do, I do not know.

If you're asking me in general what my opinion is about the overall project then I will say that this is a necessity and I completely support this project because it comes with a lot of benefits. However, I think it could have been planned and executed in a much much better way.

considering there were cost overruns and a higher than expected cost on the metro projects (esp in comparison to region where more advanced projects have costed less or same) dont you think it was a fair expectation for PML-N to manage it better and not royally muck up things here like they have a track record of?

 

[uberkoen]

considering there were cost overruns and a higher than expected cost on the metro projects (esp in comparison to region where more advanced projects have costed less or same) dont you think it was a fair expectation for PML-N to manage it better and not royally muck up things here like they have a track record of?

Without a doubt.

However, I would disagree on the costs being higher than similar projects in the region. Maybe I'm ill informed but from what I've read the total expected cost of the project (before these expected overruns) was pretty much in line with other similar projects in the region. The project was expected to cost somewhere around 59M USD per KM. Similar projects in India (Mumbai, Pune and Jaipur), Copenhagen and Jakarta costed 60-117 M USD per KM.

However, that being said, it is inexcusable for the project to be managed so poorly and also the fact that the budget for this is coming out of cuts from other important projects points to the fact that the planning was extremely poor to begin with.

Allow me to reiterate, mass transit systems for cities like Lahore and Karachi are absolutely crucial. We should allocate budgets to such projects on an annual basis but on the other hand it is absolutely unforgivable that massive projects like this are so poorly planned. Overruns should not be accepted at any cost and the government or whoever is responsible should come out and explain this situation and also clearly tell the people where this additional money will come from and what other projects are being sacrificed because of the Metro project.

 

[MenInG]

The much-delayed project, centred in Lahore, was slated to begin operations in March, after a go-ahead from the Supreme Court of Pakistan. But the deadline was missed. Instead, the outgoing chief minister of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif, inaugurated a test-run of the Orange Line Metro Train in May, days before leaving office.

“It is now in its final stages,” insists Muhammad Asad, deputy director at the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), tasked to execute the project, “Around 80 per cent of the electrical and mechanical work is done, while 90 per cent of the Anarkali’s underground station is also finished.” By next month, the laid out track will be handed over to Chinese experts for a final assessment, he added.

The $1.6 billion high-speed rail was launched in 2014 by Sharif’s provincial government, in collaboration with a Chinese company. Construction began a year later and was personally supervised by the then-Punjab chief minister.

Once open for business, the 27-kilometre metro train is expected to run on electricity and will transport up to 250,000 passengers a day. The capacity will be increased to 500,000 passengers by 2025.

The project, however, ran into legal troubles with the Lahore High Court due to its close proximity to 11 historical monuments in the city. Then, last year, the Supreme Court allowed it to power through, with some conditions. Amongst which was the order to set up a Rs100 million fund for the restoration of the historical monuments, ensure that all construction work is monitored by archaeologists and former judges, as well as make arrangements to reduce the speed of the high-speed rail when passing near the heritage sites. The judges also instructed the government to operate the metro train “on an experimental basis for at least two weeks on the entire length of the route” to monitor vibrations.

Even though LDA officials insist that they have laboured day and night, work had to be paused in the last few months due to funds not being released by the caretaker government. “Workers of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) could only be brought in once the funds were granted,” explains Asad. He further assured that there will be no further delays.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/205958-more-delays-and-a-new-date-for-pakistans-first-metro-train

 

[Abdullah719]

Orange Line train to be launched soon

The Orange Line Metro Train service will be launched soon after the removal of hurdles that occurred due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has said.

Buzdar paid a surprise visit to the Orange Line Metro Train station at Dera Gujran and reviewed the preparations for the launch of the train service.

The chief minister also inspected the latest facilities being provided in Orange Line Metro Train, the automatic equipment and different sections.

The Punjab Mass Transit Authority (MTA) MD gave a detailed briefing to the chief minister about the status of the project.

Buzdar, while directing the authorities to make Orange Line Metro Train functional, said that it was a part of the CPEC project. He said construction work of the metro train system had almost been completed and the government was waiting for favourable conditions.

The chief minister further maintained that by making the Orange Line Train functional, the government is ending the tradition of abandoning previous governments’ projects.

“Metro train is being made functional for the welfare of people and their convenience,” he remarked. “The government is determined to provide the best transport facilities to the citizens of the metropolis,” he added.

Buzdar highlighted that SOPs to protect the passengers from Covid-19 will be strictly followed in the Orange Line Train.

The MTA MD apprised the chief minister of the progress on the initiatives taken for the functioning of the Orange Line Train.

He stated that electrical, mechanical and civil works of Orange Line Train system had been completed. He said that services of officials and experts of Chinese companies had been hired.

The chief minister directed all authorities concerned to complete the steps for the launch of the train service as soon as possible.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2254487/orange-line-train-to-be-launched-soon

 

[MenInG]

Lahore, Pakistan – Perching on a hand-woven, straw-seat stool at my uncle Zahid Mehmood’s dimly lit, rented house in the muddy streets of Gulshan Ravi, I am looking through our old family photo albums. It’s like looking at an antique film reel which projects me straight into the past.

“The train rides through my house,” says my 56-year-old uncle, as he counts the windows in a photograph of the six-storey building on McLeod Road that he once called home.

He is speaking of the new, Chinese-backed commuter train line – Lahore’s Orange Line Metro Train – which began construction in October 2015, signalling a new chapter in the Pakistan-China economic friendship and providing an easier, faster commute for the citizens of Lahore.

The house, a pre-Partition structure which he inherited from my Nana along with his six siblings, including my mother, had stood on McLeod Road, right on top of where the new Orange Line train rolls through today. It was demolished in 2017 to widen the road for the new public transportation system.
This house also appears in many of my childhood pictures. In one sepia-tinted photo from 2001, I am 10 years old, standing on the street outside, holding my uncle’s then one-year-old daughter, Aneeqa. I spent every school summer holiday at McLeod Road, and after the six weeks, I would return to the UK where my parents had emigrated in the late 1990s.

And now, here I am, many years later, to follow the train line that runs through my childhood memories.

The writer, aged 10, on Mcleod Road with her cousin Aneeqa [Photo courtesy of Anam Hussain]
‘That train snatched all my earnings’
McLeod Road in Lahore, once a top-notch office furniture market with housing above shops and dozens of old buildings constructed before 1947, now runs along the route of the 27km Ali Town-to-Dera Gujran train line.

The Chinese-backed train, launched mid-pandemic on October 25 this year, boasts a bright colour scheme, reflecting Lahore’s vibrant culture, in shining shades of grey, red and orange. The train – smart and sleek – features glossy white interior walls and grey-with-striking-red, bench-style seating arranged in opposing rows in all five air-conditioned carriages. Hailed as a first for comfortable travel in a city of rough roads, it accelerates smoothly with an operating speed of up to 80km/h (50mph).

Talking about his once-flourishing family furniture business, Wahid & Co, which operated below the McLeod Road house, Zahid says in a broken voice, “I will never set foot on that train, I don’t want to look at it. It snatched all my earnings.”

His wife, Anila, seated next to him, points to her wedding photograph and adds, “I have so many memories tied to this place. I came here as a bride. My children were born here.”

While she understands that it is economically efficient to build transit lines in a developing country like Pakistan, she says, “Not in such a manner that it results in the displacement of people in their own land.”

Shaping growth after a history of neglect
A lack of transport infrastructure has been a constraining factor in the economic development of Pakistan. The Orange Line, with its set of 27 trains, is one of the first modern mass transit systems in the country, aimed at addressing this issue.

“It will make a major difference to congestion in the city and control of traffic flow. Secondly, for the environment, the smog which blankets Lahore – it is a step to help reduce that,” Muhammad Jahanzaib Khan Khichi, provincial minister of Punjab for Transport, tells me when I speak to him as part of my investigation into how the train has affected people’s lives here.

“If we directly address and connect these two main factors with the citizens of Lahore, I think it is a huge benefit for them. The climate change affecting us is the most threatening [issue] for the people of Lahore,” he adds.

“Since our traffic system is very time-consuming, this train route will save time. People are gradually beginning to use the service,” he says.

It represents one step towards shaping the growth of the second-largest metropolitan city of Pakistan, as the train services awaken after a history of neglect and termination.

After the conquest of Sindh by the British colonial government, Pakistan’s first rail infrastructure became operational in 1861, running between Karachi and Kotri, now the largest city in Pakistan’s Jamshoro District.

In 1964, the first inner-city service opened – the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR). It was used by commuters, carrying as many as six million passengers a year. By the 1990s, unable to withstand the pressures of huge financial losses and a drop in the number of annual passengers, the KCR line shut down. After that, not much was done to upgrade and expand the country’s rail system.

Instead, road networks and motorways became the new symbols of progress, and the number of vehicles on the roads steadily rose. In 1980, the total number of vehicles registered in Lahore was 70,342, rising to more than 1.16 million in 2005, and growing by more than 100 vehicles a day.

‘A fantastic initiative’
The new Orange Line, which connects Dera Gujran in the east of Lahore to Ali Town in the western outskirts, has been built as part of the China Belt and Road initiative (BRI) and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Both projects are efforts to reinvigorate infrastructure in Pakistan, which is considered a strong market for Chinese trade, connecting large markets and production centres.

Partially financed by the Pakistani government, the Orange Line operates as a joint venture between China Railway and Norinco International – China’s construction engineering company.

Zeeshaan Shah, founding board member of the privately owned China-Pakistan Investment Company (CPIC), based in London with offices in Karachi and New York, explains that China’s investments in Pakistan are important for the country’s development as an emerging market, and will bring critical infrastructure and provide a more conducive environment for local businesses to grow and thrive.

“The relationship is based on common goals for a peaceful and progressive region,” he says. “One key outcome of this investment is that the country, after suffering from an acute energy shortage for 25 years, is now in an energy surplus. Pakistan generates more electricity today than it requires. This would not have been possible without China.”

“Upgrading the commuter transport network in Pakistan’s second-largest city is a fantastic initiative,” he adds.

At the opening ceremony of the new train line, complete with 26 new stations, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar announced that the new transport system would provide an “international standard” of service for the citizens of Lahore.

It certainly looks the part. The welcoming staff wear smart uniforms – a black suit with an orange ribbon on the cuffs, a matching orange tie and a hat with an orange band for the men; a traditional navy shalwar kameez combined with a bright orange scarf that complements the train’s exterior for the women.

Read more on

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/12/1/pakistan-lahore-orange-train

 

[Dark_Horse]

It is merely a white elepehant should be named white elephant train system. Built at enormous cost and caters only a small community. The areas connected are the posh ones and rarely uses public transport. At this cost whole of southern Punjab would have been interconnected

 

[FearlessRoar]

It's one of the best projects I've travelled on.

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

It is merely a white elepehant should be named white elephant train system. Built at enormous cost and caters only a small community. The areas connected are the posh ones and rarely uses public transport. At this cost whole of southern Punjab would have been interconnected

Metros are truly white elephants of modern local politics. very few metros in the world are actually ever profitable. These cities need to be heavily populated to make economic sense.