Peace Be Upon You,Dear Readers.
It’s quite large of a question in our area,that whether the new system of local transportation in Lahore a good idea or just a waste of time?I have done some research on it,Following are some important questions answered about the project:
The Orange Line
Cost:
The government of Punjab is spending Rs162 billion for the transportation of 250,000 residents of Lahore.
Question:
How much is Rs162 billion?
Answer:
Rs162 billion for 250,000 passengers amounts to Rs 650,000 per passenger.
__For the record, Suzuki Mehran VX sells for Rs 630,000__and,
in effect, the government of Punjab could have bought a brand new Mehran VX for each and every passenger.
Question:
How much is Rs162 billion?
Answer:
Punjab’s population stands at 101 million and the government of Punjab spends a total of Rs 59 billion on education and
Rs54 billion on health services.
Every resident of Punjab will now be taking on an additional Chinese debt of Rs1,600.
For the record, the government of Punjab spends Rs 600 on a per capita basis on education and
Rs 500 on a per capita basis on health.
Question:
How much is Rs162 billion?
Answer:
Every three out of four residents of Punjab do not have access to clean drinking water. Amazingly, Budget 2015-16 allocated a mere Rs 12 billion for the water supply of
101 million residents of Punjab.
Question:
How about the Orange Line’s financial viability?
Answer:
The estimated breakeven is Rs 175 per ticket.
At Rs 20 a ticket, the Orange Line will lose Rs 40 million a day or
Rs14 billion a year (operation and maintenance is estimated at around Rs 4 billion a year).
Question:
What about the debt payment to the Chinese?
Answer:
The debt payment of interest and principal is estimated at around Rs 30 million a day or
Rs 10 billion a year (assuming that the Chinese loan is concessional in nature).
Question:
How much is Rs162 billion?
Answer:
On a per kilometre basis it converts to Rs 6 billion a kilometre – the most expensive of its kind on the face of the planet
( the cost of the Lahore Metro Bus was Rs1 billion a kilometre).
Question:
How much is Rs162 billion?
Answer:
The Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre – comprising
outpatient clinics,
chemotherapy facility
and
an inpatient unit – is going to cost Rs 4 billion.
With Rs 162 billion, the government of Punjab could have built 41 such hospitals
(Punjab has 36 districts).
For the record, 47 percent of school-age children in Punjab are out-of-school.
According to The Citizens Foundation,
the cost of building a primary school is Rs 17 million.
With Rs 162 billion,
the government of Punjab can build 10,000good quality primary schools;
nearly 300 new schools
in each and every one of Punjab’s 36 districts.
For the record, there are 2.9 million school-age children in Punjab who are out-of-school.
According to The Citizens Foundation, the yearly cost of educating a child is Rs 15,000. The yearly cost of educating all of the 2.9 million will be Rs 44 billion.
Someone intelligent once said,
“ Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”