BRT cost not increased: PDA

Peshawar: The Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) has said, in a press release, that the cost of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project has not increased, a news source reported. It still remains at its original valuation of PKR 66 billion.

A loan agreement between Pakistan and the French Development Agency (AFD) had been signed last year. The deal was recently executed after the completion of official formalities. Its processing had nothing to do with any speculated increases in cost.

The press release also stated that the revision of PC-1 had been approved by ECNEC at a figure of PKR 66 billion in November 2018. Following this development, the loan from AFD had materialised.

The BRT project is co-financed by Asian Development Bank (ADB), AFD, and the K-P provincial government. ADB will provide USD 335 million and AFD EUR 130 million, while the provincial government will bear the remaining cost.

The BRT project is currently in its final stages, with 90% of its development work completed. At present, construction work is being done on its stations. As such, it is the biggest project (in scale) in the history of the province.

The soft launch of the project has been fixed for March, 23.