The 27-km-long Lahore Orange Line Metro Train would be constructed on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis while work on this mega project would be started by end of July 2015, official sources said on Monday.
A consortium of Chinese firms in collaboration with the Metro Bus Authority and the Punjab government will complete the project worth Rs 165 billion.
This project would be executed on BOT basis and the Chinese firms would run it for a period of 25 years. The Chinese hired the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) for the construction of track and other related works.
It is pertinent to mention here that it is also the largest project of mass transit in the country in which China is going to invest a huge amount on BOT basis.
The project is part of the metro network in the city and when completed, it will connect Raiwind, Multan Road, Mcleod Road, Lahore Junction Railway Station and the Grand Trunk Road. It will be the first line of the Lahore Metro, which is country’s first mass rapid transit train system. It would also be financed and developed by the Chinese government.
The corridor would be capable of accommodating two trains running both up and down the track, ferrying up to 30,000 passengers per hour.
The project will run on a 27.1 kilometre track, of which 25.4 kilometres will be elevated. The service will initially benefit around 250,000 passengers a day and this capacity will be increased to 500,000 passengers daily by 2025.
