PTI govt lessens burden on Sindh govt by taking over Karachi's Green Line BRT.

KARACHI -- The federal government will now procure and run the buses as well as implement the Integrated Intelligent Transport System for the under-construction Green Line Bus Rapid Transit project, in lieu of the Sindh Government.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government will allocate Rs7.7 billion for this project to provide better transit facilities to the citizens of Karachi. On Thursday, the Sindh government formally announced that it had stopped the procurement of buses on the instructions of Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and also submitted a proper request to the cabinet division in this regard. As many as 80 buses will be imported by next year.

Sindh govt cancels procurement of Green Line buses

The real reason

PM Khan considers Karachi a strong political fort of his party. He gave the direction to procure the buses, while taking strict notice of delays in the Green Line Bus project during his visit to Karachi last year. At the time, the PM had told officials that the project should be completed as soon as possible.

During the meeting, PM Khan had expressed the wish that all aspects of the project, including the construction, procurement of buses and operation should be carried out by the federal government.

The project

The federal government's Karachi Infrastructure Development Company Limited has been carrying out the construction of the Green Line Bus project. The construction commenced in 2016. It envisaged a dedicated bus corridor from Surjani Town (Abdullah Motors) to Municipal Park (Jama Cloth) via North Karachi, UP Morr, Nagan Chowrangi, North Nazimabad, Sher Shah Suri Road, Business Recorder Road, Numaish and MA Jinnah Road. As per the original plan, the entire project was to be completed by December 2017.

However, the project has been facing delays due to various reasons. The construction of the project from Surjani Town Abdullah Mor to Gurumandir has been completed. However, the work on stations is still under way, as is the construction of the underpass at Numaish Chowrangi.

KIDCL Chief Finance Officer Zubair Channa told The Express Tribune that the federal government's responsibility was to hand over the Green Line Bus project to the Sindh Government after the construction phase. It was the Sindh government's responsibility to purchase the buses, operationalise the project and implement the IITS.

He said that Prime Minister Khan visited Karachi on September 18, 2018, when he was briefed about the status of...