Islamabad: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Tuesday approved two projects and recommended four schemes, including the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line project, to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval, a news source reported.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan presided over a meeting of the CDWP, which approved two projects worth PKR 3.33 billion and recommended four costing PKR 213.20 billion to ECNEC. The six projects included those pertaining to transport & communications, physical planning & housing, governance, information technology, and health.
As per the current financial rules, the CDWP can only approve projects costing PKR 3 billion or less. It refers projects costing more than this amount to the ECNEC for approval after clearing them on technical grounds.
The CDWP referred three projects of transport & communications to the ECNEC. These included the construction of BRT Red Line at a cost of PKR 78.384 billion, Karachi Urban Mobility Project (Yellow BRT Corridor) at an estimated cost of PKR 61.436 billion, and Peshawar Torkham Motorway as part of the Khyber Pass Economic Corridor project at a cost of PKR 41.44 billion.
Previously, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had approved a loan of USD 235 million for the Red Line project. The project would include a dedicated 26.6-kilometre (km) fast-track transport corridor from Numaish Chowrangi to Malir Halt and Model Colony through the University Road, supporting facilities, and 29-km corridors including one 2.4-km common corridor connecting Municipal Park and Merewether Tower.
The government expects to complete the project by 2021. As per officials, this service after completion will provide transportation services to 300,000 passengers on a daily basis. The project would benefit one-and-a half million people living in 1-km radius of each of the Red Line stations.
