Karachi: Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah will lay the foundation stone of the ‘Red Line Bus’ project in March, news sources reported on February 22. The 26-kilometre long project will be completed in three years.
Reportedly, the project includes the construction of a 26.6-kilometres BRT corridor in Karachi that includes both the Red Line corridor (24.2-kilometre) and the common corridor segment (2.4-kilometre), as well as feeder and direct transit routes to nearby districts. The facility will be powered by biogas, and a 31-acre biogas plant will be built near Bahns Colony. In addition to boosting the project’s sustainability, there will be 24 BRT stations and dedicated median lanes, better-mixed traffic lanes, bicycle lanes, parking, walkways, green areas, lamps, proper drainage, and other BRT-related infrastructure. There will also be two depots, one staging facility, Sindh TMTA and TransKarachi offices, a control centre, and park-and-ride facilities. It was also disclosed that the project would be the first not to be supported by the government.
In March last year, BRT redline received a soft loan of PKR 12 billion from French Agency for Development (AFD). The project 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 Center, Askari Park, Dawood University and Society Office.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
