Daily Times

PESHAWAR: The mega Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project Peshawar would touch the completion line in June 30 this year, according to the Transport minister Shah Mohammad Khan who said to reporters on Tuesday.

Accompanied by Advisor to Chief Minister Kyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Ajmal Wazir, the minister put aside all the criticism, — he said what Pervez Khattak, the then Chief Minister and incumbent Defense Minister had told about the completion date — was his own desire.

He added, that mega and pro-environmental projects like BRT Peshawar used to face harsh rebuff amid the project. But, in the time being everything has been put as accord to the proposed plane, and for onwards the project will go smoothly towards the completion, Shah Mohammad claimed.

Starting the marathon of deadlines from 2017 — where the last one was supposed to hit the roads in March 2019, even, this time the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KPK) government has fervently set the new deadline on the account that Asian Development Bank has set the target of December 2021 for the completion of the project

Thus, if KP’s government would meet the deadline, it will stand one and a half years early.

Meanwhile, Ajmal Wazir criticized the opposition parties for politicizing the project. And said that once the project gets complete, we would welcome all kinds of investigation.

As for now, when the initial estimated cost of the project Rs 49 billion surged to Rs 68 billion,  the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) started an investigation into the matter on December 2019, as per the directives of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), then KPK government moved the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the interrogation.

On the other hand,  the assessment of FIA continues, and on Tuesday FIA has searched for extra time from PHC to test into the issue, as, by the rules, FIA shall complete its investigation in 45 days.