Daily Times

Karachi: Caretaker Minister for Transport and Mass Transit Department (TMTD) Dost Mohammad Chandio, in a meeting regarding the Red Line Bus Project (RLBT), was told that construction work on the project will begin in March 2019.

During the meeting, the caretaker TMTD minister said that Karachi was the lifeline of Pakistan and it needed a modern mass transit system. He stressed on the need to seek suggestions from senior citizens and civil society on Karachi Mass Transit System (KMTS) to make it fault free.

He said that coordination among Cantonment, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) should be strengthened for smooth and timely completion of RLBP.

Caretaker Minister Dost Mohammad Chandio was also briefed about RLB project during the meeting. He was told that RLBP, a 29 kilometre long project, was a part of integrated Mass Transit System. He was informed that the construction work on the project will begin in March 2019 and it will be completed within 24 months.

During the briefing the minister was told that RLBP was an Asian Development Bank funded project. He was further informed that the Sindh government would provide $93.42 million (mn) for the project and the remaining $476. 93 mn would be provided by ADB and its co-financers.

Dost Mohammad Chandio was informed that RLBP was an environment friendly project and CNG hybrid buses would ply on the route. He was told that special arrangements had also been planned for special persons to avail modern transport facility.

According to the briefing, 25 stations would be constructed under RLBP. The stations would have the facility of a large car parking area.

Moreover, the caretaker minister was also told that key issue of this project was acquisition of land for construction of bus depot at Mosmiyat on KWSB’s land and another depot at Malir Halt on the PTCL’s land. He was told that KWSB pipelines were also an issue that needed to be resolved in order for the RLBP to make progress.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) Consultant Mr. Colan, Mass Transit Authority Project Director Peter, Mass Transit Authority (MTA) Managing Director (MD) Mr. Hanif Mirchi Wala, Board of Directors Chairman Mr. Tariq Kareem and others also attended the meeting.

Published in Daily Times, July 14^th 2018.