Lahore: A private TV channel has reported that Paperwork has been completed to lease out 41.5 acres of Railway land to Bilour family.
According to the source, to set up Aza Khel dry port near Peshawar, railway land was being leased out to former APTMA chairman Moshin Aziz for Rs 2.2 million a year, after under-evaluating the land price at Rs 370 million which originally is worth Rs 700 million. Mohsin Aziz also happens to be the relative of ANP leader Ilyas Bilour.
When Railways legal adviser Imdad Ali reportedly refused to endorse the deal after, the Federal Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour tried to get him removed.
The land’s price is being based on 20007 estimates and all other companies that applied for pre-qualification have been rejected. Also the royalty on containers is being set at $10 per container instead of Rs 1000. This would allow the contractor to illicitly gain Rs 150 per container. This loss would be borne by the Railways.
The Aza Khel Trust will invest Rs 174 million in the project. The profit to the Railways through Afghan trade and 16,000 bogies is estimated at Rs 250 to 300 million, according to the document.
