KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday announced to lay the foundation stone of Red Line Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) megaproject next month.
The chief minister chaired a meeting of the board of directors of TransKarachi which elected Shaiq Usmani as its chairman. During a briefing on Red Line BRT project, it was informed that the route of the bus service will connect Malir Halt to Mereweather Tower as it would connect Malir Cantt, Safoora, University Road and Numaish.
The meeting was informed a biogas plant will be installed on a 31-acre land in Cattle Colony area of Karachi, which will be used for fulfilling the fuel needs of the bus service. The project is being built with the assistance of World Bank.
CM Sindh said that the entire project spans over three years which includes two years for construction route and one year for managing the operation of buses. He announced to lay the foundation of the project in March.
Red Line BRT project
The Red Line will span 26 km from Safoora to Tower and is expected to have an average daily ridership of 625,000 passengers. The 26-kilometre route will connect Model Colony to Johar Complex en route Jinnah Avenue and Malir Cantt while the buses will run through University Road, Hassan Square and Numaish roundabout.
There will be 24 stations 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, Askari Park, Dawood University and Society Office. It would be the first-ever transport project to be run without any subsidy by the government, whereas, a wide cycling track will also be built along with the bus route
The Red Line BRT project had been in doldrums for over 12 years. It was started by the Karachi Mass Transit Cell of the Karachi Development Authority on the recommendations of Transport Master Plan 2030 was not implemented due to conflict between federal and provincial governments.
In August 2021, an agreement-signing ceremony was held between TransKarachi officials and a construction firm for the Red Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. The funds will be provided by the ADB along with the Sindh government, UN Green Climate Fund (GCF), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD). The GCF has issued a grant of $11 million for the project.
