Islamabad: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Friday revealed that it had prepared the PC-1 for acquiring 30 buses for running on the Islamabad International Airport (IIA) Metro Track, a news source reported. As per details, the PC-1 also covers the establishment of a ticketing and command & control centre for the bus service between Peshawar Mor and IIA.
Following the directions of the federal government, CDA Chairman Amer Ali Ahmed held a meeting for discussing options to start the bus service along the IIA Metro Track. The officials concerned informed the meeting that the PC-1 worth PKR 1.9 billion had been forwarded to the interior ministry for approval. They added that after receiving the approval, it would take at least six to eight months to launch the metro service to the airport.
The officials said that as an alternative solution, CDA would acquire the services of private bus operators or the Punjab Metro Bus Authority to run some buses along the route while the process of procuring buses and setting up ticketing system was underway. The meeting decided that the relevant officials would work on the two proposals and the next meeting would take the final decision in this regard.
According to details revealed, the National Highway Authority is currently working on construction of the IIA Metro Track. The CDA chairman has directed officials to complete all arrangements so the civic body could begin operating buses within three days of NHA handing over the control of the track. Officials also briefed the meeting that CDA was working on a proposal to reduce the volume of the subsidy for the metro route.
