Daily Times

LAHORE: More than 48 percent work on the Orange Line Metro Train has been completed so far, besides substantial progress has been made on nine out of 141 elevated stations being built from Dera Gujjran to Mcleod Road.

This was told by OLMT Steering Committee Chairman Khawaja Ahmad Hassan during a weekly progress review meeting on Wednesday.

It was shared the NESPAK had constituted a special task force for expeditious preparation of designs of the elevated stations. A three-member delegation of architects from NESPAK will soon proceed to China and UAE to visit metro-stations in Dubai, Beijing and Shanghai for this purpose, the meeting heard.

The NESPAK has also prepared a proposal for linking underground Anarkali Station of the metro train with Jain Mandar Station of the Green Line Metro Bus through an underpass. The proposal has been handed over to the Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMA) for further deliberations. The meeting was told that girders, large iron or steel beams or compound structure used for building bridges and the framework of large buildings, had been precast for laying the rail track for the metro train. Khawaja Ahmad Hassan directed for preparing a standard operation procedure, clearly specifying duties of relevant departments for launching of the structures. He also issued directives for taking all the departments concerned on-board, in advance, especially the traffic police. He directed the authorities to ensure comprehensive and adequate security to the Chinese experts working at the project. “No slackness or negligence in this regard is tolerable,” he stressed. The chairman also directed them to ensure supply of water supply and sewerage connections at the metro train stations, besides making fire-fighting arrangements at these places. Later, the directed the officials to expedite work on under-construction parts of Kinnaird High School, Empress Road and the two schools along Multan Road by utilising additional labour.