Multimillion-dollar project hit with delays

Given the port city’s traffic conundrum and the minimal public transport options, mega projects like the Red Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) are the need of the hour, however, after being delayed for more than a decade, the project has come to a halt again.

The Red Line project, which is being constructed under the supervision of Trans Karachi, a company owned by the Sindh government, is a three phase project, which under phase one would provide transport from Model Colony to Mosmiyat, under phase two would provide transport from Mosmiyat to Numaish Chowrangi, and under phase three would provide transport from Municipal Park to Tower.

The foundation stone for phase one and phase two, which includes procurement of buses and civil works, was laid in August 2022, and was expected to be completed by 2024. However, this completion timeline has now been extended to 2026. In this regard, officials privy to the work on the project, informed the Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity that contractors engaged for the project had lost interest in it due to the uncooperativeness of officials of Trans Karachi. “The contractors had slowed down the construction work for the past several months as they were demanding an increase in their engagement rate due to the increase in the cost of construction materials. Presently, they have stopped working altogether since December,” an official disclosed.

When asked to elaborate upon how Trans Karachi was to be blamed for the work coming to a halt, the official stated that the government owned company was being run by individuals who were not appointed on merit and thus had little interest in the project. “The purpose of establishing Trans Karachi was to curtail political interference or that from the Sindh government so that it would be able to work freely and transparently. However, later on due to political pressure, nepotism won.”

“For instance, the present Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is a retired civil engineer, who has no experience in mass transit. Even if one were to disregard the lack of experience, the CEO is not invested in the project, which is evidenced by the fact that despite the closure of the project, the CEO is presently on leave.”

It is pertinent to mention that the Red Line project is multi-million dollar project, with a price tag of 503.3 million dollars, out of which the Asian Development Bank will provide 235 million dollars, the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank will provide 71.81 million dollars, the French Development Agency will provide 71.81 million dollars, while the Green Climate Fund will provide a 11.8 million dollar grant and 37.2 million dollars in loans; whereas, the Sindh government will cover the remainder 75.71 million dollars.

In light of the exorbitant cost of the project and the allegations levelled against the CEO of Trans Karachi, the Express Tribune made multiple attempts to contact the CEO, Tufail Palijo, however he did not respond. Thus, the Express Tribune, spoke with the government owned company’s General Manager Planning, Niaz Ahmed, who said that the construction work had not been stopped due to the contractors’ demands. “The construction work has only been stopped due to implementation of safety measures, such as the installation of fences around the project site,” said Ahmed.

However, when pressed about the completion timeline of the project, Ahmed conceded that the completion timeline had been extended to 2025-2026.

The Express Tribune also spoke with Sarosh Lodhi, who is the Chairman of the Trans Karachi Board, who concurred with Ahmed. “The development work has only been stopped for the installation of safety measures. As far as the engagement rate of the contractors is concerned, an increase in their rate has already been addressed and a notification will be issued soon.”

When asked about the allegations of nepotism against Trans Karachi’s CEO, Lodhi told the Express Tribune that he was not aware of the terms of appointment of the CEO, therefore could not comment on his appointment.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2024.