LAHORE: Expressing reservations over bidding process of the Lahore Metro Bus project, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill said on Wednesday that this project was awarded by Shahbaz Sharif government to a chosen single foreign bidder at US $3.80 per km, in 2012 while no other local or foreign company was invited to bid.

While addressing a press conference along with PTI Central Punjab President Ijaz Chaudhry here at the Governor’s House, he said the award of this project without fair competition was a dishonest practice with waste of public tax money.

He said that the PTI was not against Metro Bus but it had opposed the process, as Shahbaz Sharif awarded the contract to a foreign company of his choice to run 45 buses fleet under dubious circumstances. On the other hand, he said the PTI government had awarded the same project in US $1.86 per k.m. in 2020 and saved 1.94 dollars per km.

Gill said he had been summoned by the court on a petition questioning the dubious bidding of Metro bus project, adding that he would appear before the court unlike JUI Chief Fazlur Rehman who refused to appear before the court. He claimed that Shahbaz Sharif influenced the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab to get his son-in-law Ali Imran declared innocent in corruption charges, adding that the ACE was not allowed to work freely during Shahbaz Sharif’s 10 years rule.

He said the ACE Punjab recovered mere three billion of rupees between 2008-18 under Shahbaz Sharif while the same institution recovered 206 billions of rupees during 27 months rule under PTI.

He added that NAB during the PTI government had recovered 399 billions of rupees while it could only recovered Rs 104 billion during the past 10 years. Dr Shahbaz Gill said the opposition parties pursued enemy’s agenda and weakened national economy while the PTI government had put national economy on the right track.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021