PESHAWAR: The Provincial Development Working Party on Tuesday approved the execution of the much-anticipated Peshawar Sustainable Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Project, whose cost increased by around Rs20 billion over a period of time.

The project secure approval during a meeting held here.

The Rs57.23 billion project will be completed with the help of the Asian Development Bank.

Of the total cost, the provincial government will secure Rs50 billion from the ADB and contribute around Rs7.23 billion from own resources.

Project’s cost goes up by around Rs20 billion

A project presentation shared with Dawn showed that the project would be sent to the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) for approval.

According to it, the project will be completed within 12 months with the aim to introduce a well-designed, comfortable and user-friendly public transport and provide commuters with a reliable, safe, affordable and high quality bus rapid transit service in the provincial capital.

The corridor will be around 26 kilometers long with 15 kilometers street level stretch, six kilometers long elevated portion and five kilometers tunnels.

The BRT will have 32 stations, two depots, 68 kilometers feeder bus routes, 150 bus stops, 450 buses, six storied parking plaza and 61 acres of commercial plaza.

Its infrastructure and depots will cost Rs39.27 billion, utility relocation Rs4.2 billion, fleet scrapping and environmental mitigation Rs1.11 billion and fleet procurement Rs7.78 billion.

The presentation said the project’s cost had gone up by almost Rs20 billion due to the 20 percent increase in the cost of the project on market rate system to accommodate international bidding, inclusion of Sunehri Masjid alignment, inclusion of institutional costs, resettlement costs, land acquisition, resettlement plan, utilities relocation, financing charges and fleet scrapping.

“The department will forward a summary to the chief minister on the 20 percent cost escalation over the MRS,” it added.

According to the documents, the BRT corridor will begin from Chamkani and would go along the GT Road ‘at-grade’ until Gulbahar, where it will elevate to the bypass junction.

Once it passes the junction, it will be ‘at-grade’ again until Firdous Cinema and will turn left near Bala Hisar Fort through a tunnel to the Khyber Bazaar and go on to Soekarno Square, Railway Road and Dabgari, where it is elevated all the way through Sunehri Masjid Road. From there, it will go ‘at-grade’ past the Mall, Khadim Hussain Road and Sir Syed junction up to Aman Chowk.

The BRT corridor will pass through the Aman Chowk by a tunnel. It will be at the street level up to Hayatabad,

It will turn left near Bab-i-Peshawar bridge and elevate through dried river bed to old sewerage treatment plants before going at street level Habib Jalib Road toward Bagh-e-Naran.

There will be its only flyover crossing dry riverbed opposite the Bagh-i-Naran. From there, the corridor will turn right towards Tatara Park and Peshawar Development Authority building before ending on Jamrud Road with its last stop at the Cancer Hospital.

BRT project director Sajjad Khan wasn’t available to respond to questions on the project despite repeated contacts by Dawn on his cellphone number.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2017