• Murad says he is aware of problems being faced by people due to delay
• Students of six universities among over two millions people suffering due to dug-up roads
• At least three to four months required to resume work

ISLAMABAD: While Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has said he is aware of the problems being faced by a large number of people due to delay in completion of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line project, the fate of the multibillion rupees transport scheme is still hang in the balance amid escalating cost and halt of construction work, it has emerged.

“We are on it to remove all bottlenecks in the project,” CM Shah told Dawn without giving any specific time to restart the project halted over one-and-a-half years ago.

During an interaction with Dawn in Parliament House recently, he was asked about the problem being faced by hundreds of thousands of people due to dug-up roads due to the delay in the Red Line project. The chief minister replied: “I am aware of the problems being faced by the people due to delay in completion of the project and [I am] making efforts to resume it.”

The project has many components like construction of two separate corridors from Malir Halt Depot to Mausmiyat (Lot-1) and Mosumiyat to Numaish (Lot-2) and, two bus depots, biogas plant/station and purchase of buses.

Former federal minister and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Aminul Haq said the project was being executed in a vast area housing d six universities and more than two million people including students of these universities have been suffering from dug-up roads, open drains and dust on a daily basis.

The Rs79 billion Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded biogas based fuel Red Line bus project was started in 2022 and it was supposed to be completed in 2025.

Initially, the contractors started construction work and after completing five per cent work they stopped it in view of cost escalation, lack of required land, delay in designing and non-cooperation of Sindh government.

A recent meeting of the board of TransKarachi held last month had approved provision of cost escalation by 30 per cent after which the overall cost of the project may go up from Rs79 billion to Rs103 billion.

‘Work may resume in three to four months’

Dr Sharoosh Lodi, the vice chancellor of the NED University of Engineering and Technology, said that many of the bottlenecks in the project had been removed.

Dr Lodi, who is the chairman of the board of, said even then work on the project might take one month or so to resume.

However, sources in TransKarachi said it would take at least three to four months to resume the work on the project as labourers and workforce of contractors had already left for their hometowns to celebrate Eidul Fitr and they would likely to return after celebrating Eidul Azha.

Dr Lodi said that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had given the go-ahead to resume the project.

He agreed that the non-acquisition of the land in Malir Halt from Rangers for the construction of a bus depot was one of the reasons behind the delay in the project.

“The Rangers were reluctant to relocate their base from Malir Halt as they were providing security to the airport from there,” he said, adding that now another piece of land was given to the Rangers so that the bus depot could be established at the proposed site.

Dr Lodi said the second bus depot was earlier proposed at the Mosamiat area but now it would be established at the 16-acre land of now demolished Alladin Park on Rashid Minhas Road.

The project has a Lot-3 under which a biogas plant was going to be established. However, the sources said that Sindh government had so far not awarded the contract for establishment of the plant.

Another official said that the Sindh government had managed to address one of the basic demands of the contractors as the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) had approved required escalation of cost keeping in view of inflationary factors and increase in the prices of construction material like steel, cement and diesel.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2024