49 buses for Orange Line BRT arrive at Karachi port

Remaining buses are on their way and will reach in different phases within one month, says Sharjeel Memon

Sindh Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon on Wednesday said that 49 buses for Orange Line Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) Service have arrived at Karachi port.

"Congratulations Karachi. Complete fleet of Orange Line BRT (Abdul Sattar Edhi Line) and 49 busses (first phase) for Intradistrict people’s Bus service reached Karachi port," Memon wrote on his Twitter handle.

Congratulations Karachi. Complete fleet of Orange Line BRT ( Abdul Sattar Edhi Line ) and 49 busses ( first phase ) for Intra district people’s Bus service reached karachi port. Remaining buses are on way which will reach in different phases within one month.

— Sharjeel Inam Memon (@sharjeelinam) May 11, 2022

He said that the remaining buses are on their way and will reach in different phases within one month.

The Sindh minister also held a meeting with Trans Karachi (Project executing company), project consultant and contractors on the project and discussed issues and obstacles and way out to remove them.

The provincial minister directed to expedite infrastructure development work on the project saying that he will visit the project site on coming Saturday. He directed contractors to move the entire fleet and human resources to the project site and start the work in full flow from Saturday.

 

"The Sindh government will extend full cooperation to Trans Karachi and contractors. I myself and my entire team will extend 100 per cent support to you," the minister added.

He said that the Red Line project is the most important project for Karachi, which will improve the infrastructure of the city and provide a safe and comfortable commuting facility to the citizens.

Memon said that Trans Karachi should ensure to remove all obstacles in the project, not even a single day delay would be tolerated.

CEO Trans Karachi Wasif Ijlal informed the meeting that four kilometres from Tank Chowk to Safoora Chowrangi on Jinnah Avenue Malir cantonment has been divided into two priority sections and handed over to the contractors for laying the infrastructure of the BRT Red Line.

He added that the pace of work was interrupted due to the utility installation of seven utility companies including Sui Southern, K-Electric, PTCL, Water Board and others.

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On this, the minister directed to remove all obstacles and added that government faces criticism and embarrassment due to unnecessary delays in the development projects.

 

Memon said that it also increases the cost of the project and the government in many cases have to bear the penalties. He directed Trans Karachi, consultation and contractors to strengthen the coordination and accelerate the pace of work on the project. He added that compromises on quality and delays will not be accepted.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah directed Karachi Mass Transit Authority (KMTS) to complete the remaining work on the corridor by the end of the month so that from the beginning of next month it could be made operational.

The transport department, giving a briefing to the chief minister, said that 95 per cent of work on the 3.8-kilometre orange line has been completed.

The BRT Orange Line starts from TMA Orangi to Jinnah University for Women near the Board Office.

Officials told the chief minister that SMTA is working on the Rs8 billion Peoples Intra-district bus service project. The NRTC will procure 250 buses, of which 240 would run in Karachi on seven routes and 10 in Larkana.

Read More: Sindh minister gives one-month target to operationalise BRT Orange Line

Officials said that 39 out of 644 bus shelters have been constructed at route three. To a question, the chief minister was told that 120 out of 250 buses have been shipped from Shanghai port.

Earlier, Memon had given a one-month target to Sindh Mass Transit Authority to operational Orange Line.

Memon added that he would personally talk to Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal so that the project could be operationalised. The Orange Line should be made operational in a month to facilitate safe and comfortable travelling to the citizens of Orangi Town and adjoining areas, he added.

It was further informed in the briefing that 98% civil work of Orange Line project from Orangi Town to Board Office has been completed .it is completely Sindh government-funded project being executed under SIDCL, a federal government company. It was also informed that Sindh government has made payments to SIDCL for the procurement of 20 buses for Orange Line.

The project was first started in 2016 under the supervision of the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA), and was supposed to be completed within a year.

Eight years on and several ultimatums later, parts of the 3.9-kilometre project are still left hanging in mid-air, including electrical work on four of its stations and the installation of elevators and escalators.

The Orange Line BRT recently renamed as Abdul Sattar Edhi Line will have five bus stations with expected daily ridership of 50,000. Line goes from Board Office to Gulshan-e-Zia, Orangi Town.