Two-corridor Red Line bus project to be launched this month.

Byline: Imran Ayub

KARACHI -- As the city has been waiting for the start of the Green Line bus service for the last five years, the authorities on Tuesday announced launching the construction of Red Line - from Malir Halt to Numaish - this month.

A statement issued by the Karachi commissioner office after a meeting held to review the transport project suggested that arrangements for the launch of the Rs7 billion scheme's construction had been finalised.

'A meeting held under the chairmanship of Commissioner Karachi Navid Ahmed Shaikh reviewed the arrangements for the work to start construction on the BRT Red Line Corridor project from Malir Halt to Numaish this month,' said the statement.

One corridor will run from Malir Halt to Numaish and the other up to Tower

'The transport secretary, Shariq Ahmed, briefed the meeting in detail about the project. He said that ECNEC had approved the BRT Red Line project comprising two corridors and allocated more than Rs7 billion for the construction, including a 27-kilometre corridor from Malir Halt to Numaish and the second corridor from Numaish to Tower.'

The meeting was also attended by the deputy commissioners of East, South and Malir, chief executive officer of Trans-Karachi, senior officials of the Mass Transit Authority, traffic police, Civil Aviation, KMC, DMCs, and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board.

'The meeting was told that the construction on Corridor One from Malir Halt to Numaish would be started expectedly this month for which arrangements had been finalised,' it said. 'The meeting was also informed that 16 stations would be constructed on this line which will run from Malir Halt to Numaish via Model Colony, Safoora Goth, King Cottages, Met Office, NED University, Safari Park, Nipa, Urdu University, Masjid Baitul Mukarram, Civic Centre...