by Zhao Xiaopeng

 

LAHORE, Feb.25 (China Economic Net) - February 25, 2020 has witnessed the Contract Signing Ceremony for the Operation and Maintenance Services for Metro Rail Transit System on the Orange Line in Lahore, the first largest metro project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). 

  
According to the agreement, a consortium of NORINCO International, Guangzhou Metro Group, and a Pakistani company DW will undertake the operation and maintenance of the OLMT for 8 years.

 

The signing ceremony forebodes that the Orange Line Metro Transit (OLMT) will become the most advanced urban rail transit system in South Asia, and is expected to improve the commuting efficiency for more than 10 million people in Lahore, driving the economic growth and bringing vitality to its urban modernization.

The agreement on OLMT project was signed in April 2015 under the witness of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Constructed by China Railway and NORINCO, Orange Line is the first mass transit train in Pakistan. It has been scheduled to become operational in mid 2020, from which day Pakistan will officially usher in the era of metro transit.

The project is of great significance for both China and Pakistan. It demonstrates another positive result of the China North Industries Group and NORINCO’s in-depth implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the "Silk Road Pearl" project. And it is a milestone event that for the first time the entire industrial chain of China's urban rail transit, including design, manufacturing, construction, operation and maintenance, has been introduced to a foreign country. 

Foremost, the metro train will provide Pakistani people with advanced, efficient and safe transportation services, which exactly testifies the principle of the BRI that embraces extensive consultation, joint construction and shared benefits.

In the crucial time of the novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), NORINCO International has been strictly adhering to the prevention and control measures to guarantee no one would be infected. Meanwhile, the company has initiated recruitment and training program in full scale, in a wish to establish a professional team of Pakistani workers specializing in operation and maintenance. Based on the program, the company will further introduce China’s management system of metro transit into Pakistan so that the project can sustain development in a long term.