KARACHI: Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that he will perform the ground-breaking of at least one mass transit project for Karachi within this month in order to mitigate sufferings of commuters.

Presiding over a high-level meeting held at the CM House here on Tuesday, Mr Shah observed that Karachi is an international city and being the economic hub of the country it has strategic importance. Transport is a major issue for Karachities and, therefore, the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government had conceived many mass transit projects to resolve it once and for all, he told the meeting.

He said that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was being executed in the city which provided for the launching of projects like Yellow Line, Orange Line, Green Line, Blue Line, Red Line etc. “We cannot afford more delays in the implementation on these projects, so I intend to perform the ground-breaking of at least one of these projects by the end of this month,” he said, adding that the other projects would also be launched with little space between each.

Minister for Transport Mir Mumtaz Hussain Jakhrani and Transport Secretary Tuaha Farooqui told the meeting that the Orange Line project would cost over Rs2.5 billion and the working on it had almost been completed. Currently, utilities infrastructure along its route was being shifted to clear the way and the work would be completed within this month, the meeting was told.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2015

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