KARACHI: Public transport users in this beleaguered city are unlikely to get relief in their daily ordeal anytime soon as two major transport projects are running behind their schedule. Any immediate induction of new buses is also not on the cards, it emerged here on Saturday.

At present work is continuing on the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, a 22-kilometre road corridor from the Powerhouse area of Surjani Town to the Merewether Tower on M.A. Jinnah Road, and the Abdul Sattar Edhi Bus Line, formerly the Orange Line, a 4-km track running from Orangi Town’s Town Municipal Authority (TMA) office to the Matric Board intersection in Nazimabad.

A recent visit to these sites showed that the Green Line BRT track from Surjani Town to Gurumandir was almost complete while work continued at the remaining spots, including the underpass at Numaish.

Construction-related activities at the Edhi Line’s site, however, were almost at a standstill. In fact, hardly 30 per cent to 40pc work has been done so far. Absence of any diversions and the poor condition of the existing track in Orangi added to commuters’ woes.

Prolonged delays prompting encroachments and garbage dumps

“Work on this project was started three years ago but the overhead structure across the road had been built eight months ago. As you can see, the whole area is in a terrible shape because of the under-construction project and the broken road,” a shopkeeper and resident of the area said while speaking to Dawn at Orangi Town’s TMA’s office.

Prolonged delays in completion of both projects have encouraged encroachers to occupy spaces under the elevated portions of the BRT tracks. Others are using these spots to dump garbage. One could also see heaps of construction debris adding to congestion and hazards on the road.

“I think the completed portion of the Green Line project from Surjani up to Nazimabad could be made operational within a short time. It would help provide some relief to commuters and also give them the confidence to use a new service,” said Prof Mir Shabbar Ali of NED University of Engineering and Technology, an expert on transport issues, adding that similar BRT services were being successfully run in Lahore and Islamabad.

He sounded hopeful about the projects and said once functional, they would help solve Karachi’s transport problem to a great extent.

‘The October deadline’

The Green Line BRT project was inaugurated in February 2016 as part of the Karachi Transportation Improvement Project and was originally set to be completed by the end of 2017.

Components of the project include 22 bus stations, escalators and elevators, a bus depot at Surjani Town and a command and control centre in Saddar.

According to the official data, the original PC-1 cost of Green Line project was Rs16 billion in 2016 which was later revised to Rs24bn. The amount spent till date in relocation of water, sewerage, gas, telephone, electric and gas lines as well as military signals and construction of storm-water drains is Rs1.10bn.

“Including all these costs, we are as of today within the PC cost and even saving more than Rs1bn,” said Zubair Channa, the chief financial officer of the federal government-run Karachi Infrastructure Development Company Limited (KIDCL), the company which designed and is executing the project.

According to him, the portion from Surjani Town to Gurumandir is ready and the company had asked the provincial transport department in writing in May last to take it over.

Work on the remaining portions, including the allied services, was continuing at a fast pace and hopefully would be ready by October, he said.

On delays, he explained that relocation of utility lines and clearance of project sites was the major reason behind delays which consumed a lot of time, though coordination was there and relevant departments were on board at all stages.

“Some departments were found to have no complete site plans of their lines. Having said that, the project is progressing smoothly now,” he said, adding that old utility lines had not only been relocated but replaced under the project that also saw laying of new drainage lines at some spots.

Answering a question, he said the infrastructure being built was earthquake-resistant and a backup power supply system had also been arranged to ensure that the elevators operated round the clock.

Efforts, he said, were under way to beautify the project route with plantation while spaces under the overhead structures could be utilised by the local administration to generate revenue.

Upon contact, Mohammad Athar, the director general of mass transit, said that the provincial government would not take over the project until it was 100pc complete.

“The entire project, including all allied services, has to be completed. Taking it over at this stage can create problems for us at a later stage,” he said, adding that the process to contract out bus operation had been initiated.

He admitted that delays in the Abdul Sattar Edhi Bus Line project, earlier set to be completed within eight months in 2016, was being executed by the provincial government, but he hoped that both projects would be ready in October this year.

“Work on Abdul Sattar Edhi Line is 50pc complete. Relocation and shifting of utility lines and legal hitches caused delay but efforts are under way to make both lines operational in October,” he said, adding that preparations were also under way to launch more BRT services — the Red, Yellow and Blue lines in the city, which would be integrated with the Green Line BRT.

Asked about operating buses on the existing tracks, he said the department was working on that matter as well and a decision in that regard would be taken by the new government.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2018