SC says Peshawar BRT cost rose by 17%

Supreme Court says it will review all stages of the Peshawar BRT project

ISLAMABAD: The top court on Tuesday observed that the cost of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the mass transit project being built in Peshawar, had increased by 17 per cent over initial costs.

This was observed as a three-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC), comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, heard case filed by the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) against a Peshawar High Court (PHC) verdict regarding structural changes in the BRT project.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, Justice Bandial asked about the cost of the BRT project. PDA representative Bilal Jhagra told the court that the total budget allocated for BRT was Rs66.4 billion.

Justice Bandial noted that the PHC had ruled that the nation's money was being wasted. The cost of the project had increased by Rs17 billion, he remarked.

PDA’s counsel explained the increase in costs as changes in the project concept-I (PC-I), including a two-kilometre extension to the route of the exclusive bus corridor.

Justice Bandial remarked that he had heard that at some point along the BRT route, the buses could not cross. To this, the PDA representative clarified that buses can move freely on the route.

The PDA representative further informed the top court that the PHC had issued a verdict regarding a residential structure located along the route of the bus project.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) advocate general said the provincial government had responded to every observation of the high court.

In this regard, Justice Bandial said if the court grants extraordinary compensation to anyone, then the entire city will be filing petitions with them.

Justice Arab observed that sometimes, contractors use delaying tactics to increase the project cost. To this, Jhagra said that work on the project is progressing as per the set timeline.

Justice Bandial further asked whether all aspects of the project had been completed in accordance with the set rules and regulations, adding that the court will review all stages of the project.

The court then adjourned the case for a month.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2020.