BRT to be monitored from space by satellites

SUPARCO to cooperate with developer of mass transit project in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: As the provincial government works to complete the mass transit project being built in the middle of the provincial capital, it has been decided to partner up with national space commission to monitor the movement of its buses, status of routes, apart from overall monitoring of its stations and the entire project.

In this regard, a report prepared in coordination with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) has set-aside reservations on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects and apprised of the efforts taken by the development authority.

A PDA spokesperson said that they have started working around the clock to finish the project at the earliest.

Further, the report mentioned that to monitor the project, Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) has been asked to utilize satellites for this purpose. In this regard, SUPARCO, PDA and ADB have established 32 points.

Moreover, the PDA wrote in its report that they have already started taking measures to award shop owners the custody of their shops in the BRT underpass at Hashtnagri and Firdous.

The PDA spokesperson hoped that over the next few weeks, businesses activities will resume in the two underpasses.

“We cannot tolerate substandard quality of work on the project as millions of people will be connected through the route,” he said, adding that since it is a flagship project of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), they cannot tolerate poor standards in the project.

The PDA official further said that the contractors were working as per international standards.

Earlier this month, findings by a technical team of the ADB had alleged that the quality of material used in the construction of the BRT was inferior. Moreover, ‘critical’ deviations had been made from the planned design which may put lives at risk.

These findings had been recorded during on-site inspections by ADB’s technical teams in March this year.

The bank had warned the government that it would not disburse any further amount for the project under its loan programme until changes were made to address the 22 ‘critical’ deviations.

The width of the lane, against the requirement of an at least 6.5 meters, is below the minimum threshold at stations number 10, 12, 15 and 26. This reduced width could result in possible collisions at these stations.

“There is a significant concern of corridor lane widths at turns near BS10, BS12, BS15 and BS26. Over the course of operations, the current design may well result in collisions between BRT vehicles,” the ADB added.

The ADB had approved a $335 million loan for the project in 2017. While the project was initially approved to be constructed at a cost of Rs50 billion, the centre later approved a 38 per cent increase in the construction cost, raising it to Rs70 billion.

Moreover, last week, the PDA had to remove a barber from one of the underpasses for crossing the BRT in Hashtnagri after he set up shop in the desolated tunnel.

The shop had a barber’s chair, a mirror and a few chairs for waiting customers and falls within the path of those who use the underpass as an alternative to cross the road.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15^th, 2019.