KARACHI, Sept 8: Adviser to the Chief Minister on Local Government Waseem Akhtar on Thursday ordered the officials concerned to expedite the construction work of the inter-city bus termini. The facilities are being built on Super Highway, National Highway, RCD Highway and Yusuf Goth, Baldia Town.

The adviser said that any bottlenecks in the way of the proposed terminal at Razaqabad on National Highway be removed and tenders for the construction of the other terminal at Deh Bhatti Umri, Scheme-33, be invited immediately.

Mr Akhtar was reviewing the pace of development work at a meeting of the city government’s transport and communication department here on Thursday.

Director General of Mass Transit and EDO Transport Malik Zahirul Islam briefed him about the inter-city bus terminals project. He said that 60 per cent work on the 11.3-acre terminal at Yusuf Goth had been completed. This terminal would cater to the needs of buses shuttling between Karachi and Balochistan/Mekran.

With the help of charts and maps, he explained the work on Deh Bhatti Umri terminal spread over an area of 15 acres.

All the three terminals are being constructed at the city’s entry/exit points with provision of facilities like banks, booking offices, separate waiting rooms for male and female passengers, public toilets, cafeteria, etc.

Some 200 inter-city bus termini are functioning at 12 different locations — Sohrab Goth, Old Sabzi Mandi, M. A. Jinnah Road, Cantonment Station, Lea Market, PIDC, Mauripur, Garden Road, Nishtar Road, Banaras Chowk, Orangi Town, and on the outskirts of North Nazimabad — and they are creating problems in the flow of traffic, besides adding to the air and noise pollution.

Malik Zahir said that the buses shuttling between Karachi and Balochistan/Mekran would have the terminal facility at Yusuf Goth while those plying between Sindh and Punjab would have the same facility on Super highway. Similarly, the buses shuttling between Karachi and the interior Sindh would be using the terminals on National Highway, he added.—APP