Environmental concerns: ECNEC approves Rs23.8b Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Service

ISLAMABAD: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Saturday approved the 13 kilometere long Metro Bus Service project between Rawalpindi and Islamabad, just days before the Supreme Court is due to hear about the environmental costs of the project. In a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar at the Prime Minister office on Saturday, the Rs23.839 billion project was cleared. The project now needs to secure clearance of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by the environmental protection agency. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani last week took notice of the ‘flawed’ route alignment of Islamabad section of the project in a bid to avert possible threat to the environment. The project’s cost will be shared by the federal and Punjab governments. The federal government will contribute Rs13.419 billion whereas the Punjab government will chip in Rs10.419 billion. The service aims to provide residents of the twin cities a high quality mass transit option. As part of the project, the Peshawar Morr Interchange will be constructed. The interchange is expected to redress the long standing complaint of congestion at this inter section. The project envisages construction of over 13 km long dedicated signal free corridor of 9.60 to 10.10 meters width at normal section and from 19.00 to 21.10 meters width at Metro Bus System (MBS) stations and tranches in Islamabad Territory. The proposed corridor will accommodate articulated buses running simultaneously in both directions. MBS project will start from IJ Principal Road at Faizabad where Rawalpindi portion terminates, and will traverse through IJ Principal Road, 9th Avenue, Jinnah Avenue and finally terminate at the Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad. The Islamabad portion includes Peshawar Morr Interchange as per CDA design and a provision for 14 bus stations with allied facilities. The meeting was attended by Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman, Federal Secretaries and senior officials from central and provincial governments.