Moving fast

It is not nice but true that in the world's sixth most populous country, Pakistan, which also happens to be the most urbanised nation in the whole of South Asia, there is a woeful lack of rapid mass transit facilities, its capital Islamabad and the twin city of Rawalpindi not excluded. The residents of these cities can now hope for improvement, although they seem to be in for a long wait.
According to a Recorder Report, the Ministry of Communications has turned down a proposal offered by a Chinese company to launch mass transit projects in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Peshawar on turn-key basis. The ministry is quoted as having told the Economic Affairs Division that the Chinese company failed to submit its profile for the consideration of its proposal. Which is good enough a reason for turning down its proposal.
What the ministry had to say further on the subject shows that the proposal was invited in disregard of the procedural requirements as listed under the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), which is supervised by the Ministry of Finance.
According to our report, the ministry has said that instead of evaluating the proposal offered by a single company, the project should have been advertised in the international press and the expression of interest invited from prospective bidders possessing the requisite expertise and resources for handling similar projects on turn-key basis.
Furthermore, it suggested that before offering these projects for international bidding, feasibility study should be made mandatory to assess their financial viability. It goes without saying that in matters such as this the elements of transparency and competitive bidding must be given due attention.
No one should have cause for complaint regarding the playing field being tilted in favour of one or another party. And given that such projects involve public security issues, it is equally, if not more, important that the bidding process is completely transparent, ensuring that only the best in the field get selected.
It is hoped that the Communications Ministry's very valid objections, raised in the form of suggestions, will not halt progress on the projects for an indefinite period. It is pertinent to recall here that the mass transit plans for Karachi and Lahore have taken forever to get to the approval stage. Consequently, the volume of private vehicles on the roads has increased to a level where it is causing headaches to traffic management officials and giving nightmares to those worried about smoke and noise pollution having risen to dangerous proportions.
As for the present case, a government report made public last July shows there is an acute need for a rapid mass transit system in Islamabad and Rawalpindi as more and more people are moving to the capital city for various reasons. The twin cities, it points out, are growing at a rate of four percent per annum, which is higher than the national average. Between them Islamabad and Rawalpindi have a population of over 2.78 million that is likely to go up to seven million in another twenty-five years time.
Peshawar may not be growing that fast, but being the provincial metropolis it too will be attracting a greater number of people in the years to come. Hence it is important that these urban centres have efficient mass transit systems. Given our public officials' propensity for ad-hocism, we need to remind ourselves constantly that the proposed transportation systems must be planned in ways that not only address our current needs but also remain useful for a long time to come like the rapid transit subway train system in some Western countries that dates back over a hundred years, and yet stays an efficient mode of transportation.