LAHORE: As much as 49.5 percent civil work of Orange Line Metro Train (OMT) has been completed so far while construction on 12 sites has been elevated. “Work on one underground station along the 13.7km long track from Dera Gujjaran, GT Road, to Chuburji has also commenced,” informed OMT Project Steering Committee Chairman Khawaja Ahmad Hassan while chairing a weekly progress review meeting on Wednesday. He said that so far 20 U-tube girders, a pre-cast structure, for the first time in Pakistan have been launched along GT Road for laying the track, adding that the process would be accelerated in the coming days for speedy execution of the project. He directed the concerned officials to fix separate deadlines for completion of each station and called upon all the relevant departments to work with close coordination for achieving the set targets. He asked for provision of connection of utility services, including electricity, water supply, sui gas and telephone, at these stations as per designs approved by NESPAK, for convenience of commuters. “All utility service departments should take special care of their infrastructure during the execution of civil work for the project in order to ensure uninterrupted supply of these services to the people living in adjoining areas,” he ordered, adding that LESCO should also take care of public facilitation and avail minimum shutdowns of electricity during shifting of services. NESPAK GM Slaman Hafeez on the occasion also informed the meeting that his department has established a special task force for quick finalisation of designs and other details about the station for their speedy construction. Work for construction of a bridge for OMT on Lahore Ring Road has also started, he informed. Hafeez briefed the meeting about the pace of work on each of the four packages of the project and said that so far 59 percent civil work of the package I from Dera Gujjaran, GT Road, to Chuburji has been completed. Progress of work on package two, from Chuburji to Ali Town, was 44 percent, on a depot near Dera Gujran was 48 percent, while on stabling yard near Ali Town, it was 47 percent. Lahore Development Authority Chief Engineer Asrar Saeed, Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency Chief Engineer Saifur Rehaman and representatives of LESCO, Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited, Pakistan Telecommunication Limited, and other relevant departments, besides CR-NORINCO and China Engineering Consultants, attended the meeting.