Following the PM’s directive, the inquiry commission has launched investigation into the loans obtained for the BRT project and to identify reasons behind the delay in completion of the project.
According to details, the inquiry commission sought all records of the BRT project and inquired about the estimated amount of PC-1 of the project and revision of cost estimates.
The commission has also sought details about the overall progress on the project, reasons behind delay in completion of the project, expected completion date and estimated costs.
The commission said that the provincial BRT project must be compared with similar projects in other countries and its record must be made available to highlight the reasons behind delays in completion of the project. Schedule about the return of loans obtained for the project must also be shared by the officials concerned, it added.
Meanwhile, the inquiry commission has written a letter to TransPeshawar Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Fayyaz Ahmed in which he has been asked to present details about the project before the commission on October 3.
The CEO said that TransPeshawar has already presented all details about the project to the inquiry commission. He said agreements have been signed with different contractors for the project. He also said that TransPeshawar would initiate its work as soon as civil work on the project is completed.
Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) Director General Muhammad Aziz has confirmed that the inquiry commission has sought details about the BRT project, while adding that the required information has already been provided to the commission.
PM Khan formed the inquiry commission to find out how much loans have been obtained for the project between 2008 and 2018.
The BRT project was launched during the previous tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in KP when Pervaiz Khattak was the chief minister.
An ambitious target of six months was set for the completion of the project before the general elections, but that did not happen.
Unfortunately, even after the lapse of one year after the PTI came into power at the provincial and federal levels, the project still remains incomplete.
Several deadlines have been given for the completion of the project, but all the deadlines were missed and now the provincial government is hoping to complete the project by the end of this year.
Recently, KP Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai said that the PTI government should not have announced the completion date of the project, adding that it might be completed in the last week of the current year.
The provincial information minister accepted that major changes in the design and costs caused unwanted delays in the project. Nevertheless, work on the project is underway in full swing and it would be completed soon, he added. He also said that the provincial government has cleared the payments of contractors to ensure nonstop work on the project in two shifts.
Yousafzai also said that 85 per cent of the project has been completed and soon it would be opened for the public.