RAWALPINDI (APP/Web Desk)- Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Thursday formally inaugurated the Islamabad-Rawalpindi metro bus project.
Addressing inauguration ceremony of the project, Nawaz Sharif said the signal-free metro bus would change the destiny of the twin cities. He went on to say the PML-N government would provide such facilities to other cities too. Nawaz said his party’s opponents now recognise the services of PML-N for the country.
Prime minister also announced to launch Karachi Metro bus project.
He congratulated the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on completion of Rawalpindi-Islamabad metrobus project, saying that it would benefit the people of twin cities especially students.
The prime minister also vowed to overcome power shortfall in next three years.
“We have already cut the rates of electricity in the last few months and we will reduce it further in future as well,” Sharif added.
He said that the national leadership is well aware of the challenges and it is making all out efforts to overcome them.
“The national leadership made an important decision to launch Operation Zarb-e-Azb to eradicate terrorism from the country,” the prime minister said.
“The metro bus project was a dream which has been turned into reality today,” said the premier, adding the PML-N would provide many such facilities to commuters and passengers.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Ch Nisar, Sartaj Aziz and other dignitaries participated in the inauguration ceremony.
It is pertinent to mention here that a dedicated signal-free track of 23 kilometer has been constructed between Islamabad Secretariat to Saddar Rawalpindi with 24 stations. The stations are well- equipped with modern facilities to facilitate the commuters of twin cities. Ticketing booths, escalators and overhead bridges have been constructed at the stations for the convenience of the commuters.
The project has been completed at a cost of about Rs 44 billion -shared by the federal and Punjab governments. Initially sixty buses will ply on the route and around one hundred and fifty thousand commuters will daily benefit from this service.
Speaking to APP on Wednesday, a senior citizen in Islamabad Haji Abdul Ghafoor said that the metro bus service is a wonderful project, enabling people of all age groups to arrive at their destination on a timely basis.
He lavished praise on the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) government for fulfilling its promise, and completing the project in record time.
Ghafoor said this project would also help people across different parts of the country, who visited the federal capital for varying engagements — especially tourists.
A teacher at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) Farhat Batool — who is a resident of Rawalpindi — said undoubtedly the metro bus project is for all segments of the society, but students of the twin cities, in particular, would benefit more as its route passed through many academic institutions.
