'China to operate OLMT project for five years'

The Chinese staff will control and supervise the functioning of the Orange Line Metro Train's system for five years, which will start operating for the convenience of more than 250,000 commuters daily in the provincial metropolis. Khawaja Ahmad Hassan, Chairman of the Steering Committee for Lahore Orange Line Metro Train Project (OLMTP), disclosed this while chairing the weekly progress review meeting here on Wednesday.
He said that the Chinese staff will also train the local staff to enable them to operate the train system after five years. He told the meeting that all the 27 train sets for the Orange Line have been manufactured in China, which is being shipped to Pakistan keeping in view the availability of space for parking.
"Another three sets have been unloaded at Karachi port while four more sets were being currently shipped from Shanghai port of China. Three train sets have already reached Lahore and parked at depot at Dera Gujjran," he added. Khawaja directed the concerned officials to expedite finishing work at Islam Park and Salamat Pura metro stations, which were being set up as model stations for replication at other places.
"The Chief Minister, Punjab will inspect these stations very soon. Also, a high level delegation of Communist Party of China will visit Lahore on December 9 and will also visit the site of the Orange Line project," he added. NESPAK General Manager Salman Hafeez informed the meeting that 78.2 percent of the civil work besides 32 percent electrical and mechanical work on the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train Project has so far been completed.
He further said that the project had now entered he completion phase and all the 26 stations of the train were being completed as per international standards. MPA Chaudhary Shabaz Ahmad, LDA Chief Engineer Asrar Saeed Khan, Punjab Mass Transit Authority Manager Operations Sayed Ozair Shah, TEPA Chief Engineer Saifur Rehman, senior officials of LESCO, WASA, PTCL, Sui Gas, Traffic Police, Railways, Rescue 1122, Civil Defence, Chinese contractor CR-NOROINCO, representatives of Chinese engineering consultant and local contractors of the project attended the meeting.