Daily Times

KARACHI: Chief Minister (CM) Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, under Intra-City Bus project has approved Rs195 million to start 32 buses on Shahrah-e-Faisla in the first phase and in the second phase buses would be started on five different routes.

He took this decision while presiding over a meeting here at CM House on Monday on Transport department to review the progress of Intra-City, Inter-City bus projects and BRTS Orange Line. The meeting was attended by Minister for P&D Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Minister Transport & Information Syed Nasir Shah, Chairman P&D Mohammad Waseem, Secretary Transport Saeed Awan and others.

Minister for Information & Transport Syed Nasir Shah briefing the chief minister said that the provincial government has earmarked Rs2 billion to place them at Sindh Modarba Ltd to support subsidy requirements of the project over the period of five years. There is debt equity ratio, means 15 percent transporters’ equity and 15 percent equity to be shared by Sindh government in the form of an interest free loan. The Sindh government has already signed agreement with Sindh Modarba Ltd.

The Provincial Minister said that the transport department has received the proposal from Daewoo Express Ltd which envisages to induct 288 vehicles on five routes with average fleet of 50 vehicles per route. He added that the routes are Qayyumabad to Qasba Colony, Baldia to Quaidabad, Shah Faisal Colony to Fisheries, Landhi to Surjani and Landhi to Baldia.

Chief Minister Murad Shah directed the minister finance to start 32 Daewoo buses on long route of Shahrah-e-Faisal and then buses would be started on other routes.

The CM also directed the Transport Minister to make necessary arrangements for inaugurating the bus service on Shahrah-e-Faisal on February 15. “This is the target and you have to make all the agreements and other arrangements to start the intra-City bus service in Karachi,” he said.

Published in Daily Times, January 30^th 2018.