Islamabad’s Metro bus project airport would be fully operational by March, 2020

According to the sources, two parts of the Metro Bus Project for Islamabad airport are almost complete; whereas, the other two are still in the making, and it is said that the project would be completed and operational by March, next year.

The completion details were told at the meeting with the Senate Standing Committee that was held this Tuesday at the Parliament House in order to discuss Development, Planning, and Reforms presided by Agha Shahzaib Durrani (a senator). Earlier this year, Metro project was given the top priority, and as a response to that, this meeting was held.

The meeting was attended by various people, including certain members of the Planning Commission, PEC Chairman, NHA Chairman, Secretary Planning, Senator Sassui Palijo, Senator Mir Kabeer Shah, Senator Rukhsana Zuberi, and several government officials.

An overview of toll charges (covering M1 & M2):

Apart from that, toll charges of M1 and M2 were also discussed in the meeting. It was mentioned in the meeting that toll charges had been significantly increased in recent years considering the average number of vehicles using the motorway as well as the terms and the conditions of the contract.

The toll rates for M1 in 2005 were PKR 80 for the cars, PKR 140 for coasters, PKR 100 for the wagons, and PKR 210 for buses; while, in 2019, the toll rate for cars is PKR 240, PKR 550 for coasters and minibusses, PKR 400 for wagons, and PKR 790 for buses.

Similarly, the toll rate for M2 motorway (Lahore to Islamabad) from the year 1997 to 2020 has increased from PKR 200 to 750 for cars, PKR 300 to 1750 for coasters, PKR 300 to 1250 for wagons, and PKR 450 to 2500 for buses.

Besides, it was calculated and told the committee that NHA would require PKR 92 billion per year to reconstruct and maintain the roads.

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