Revised plans to bring down Yellow Line cost shared with World Bank

Imran Ayub Published November 25, 2022

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Thursday discussed an alternative plan for BRT Yellow Line with World Bank to minimise the cost of the multi-billion project and ensure its timely completion.

Sindh Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon held a meeting with World Bank’s Senior Transport Specialist Lincoln Flor in his office to review the original plan. The two sides agreed to undertake a detailed review of the PC-I and PC-II and alternative proposals for the BRT Yellow Line.

“The two [sides] agreed to hold further meeting and take a final decision in a week,” said a statement issued after the meeting. In order to further optimise the Yellow Line project and make it an economically successful model, two alternative proposals had also been prepared and shared with World Bank, it added.

“The Sindh government is making serious efforts to upgrade the public transport system in the city. Recently, People’s Bus Service has been launched on major common routes of the city with a cost of Rs8 billion,” the statement quoted the minister as saying. “The People’s Bus Service is a successful model with a fleet of 250 hybrid diesel buses. The service is being run in partnership with the National Radio Transmission Company, a federal government organisation.”

The meeting was informed that the government wanted to launch BRT Yellow Line as another successful public transport model and it has proposed a reduction in its infrastructure cost and increase the fleet, besides minimising government costs in terms of annual subsidy.

“World Bank’s senior official informed the meeting that Karachi is their priority. The bank is committed to providing all possible support to Sindh government in developing Karachi’s public transport infrastructure,” it added.

According to the proposed plan of Yellow Line BRT, the dedicated corridor of the bus service will start from Dawood Chowrangi in Korangi Industrial Area via Jam Sadiq Bridge, Main Korangi Road, FTC Interchange Sharea Faisal, Shahrah-i-Quaideen, Kashmir Road Interchange and will integrate with BRT Red Line at Numaish Chowrangi.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2022

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Imran Ayub is a Karachi-based reporter for Dawn with over 25 years of experience in the field. He reports on political parties, crime, telecom, and local government systems. He can be found on X at @MixPatti.

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M. Emad

Nov 25, 2022 09:25am

'Bicycles' ---- Poor, near-Bankrupt Pakistan should use Bicycles for transportation.

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Spam

Nov 25, 2022 11:21am

Who is going to sit in these trains and buses? Bicycles and bixitaxi are far better choices. Yet to understand if sindh govt model of growth is based on fantasy or heavenly manipulated by corrupt caretakers.

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Naveed Younus

Nov 25, 2022 01:00pm

Suggestion is to add bicycle and motor cycle track within the BRT line as well. will help a lot for people adopting to more environmental friendly mode of transport. so we can then ideally see a boom of electric scooty and two and three wheelers.

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Abid

Nov 25, 2022 10:26pm

Good work Sindh Government.

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M. Saeed

Nov 25, 2022 11:18pm

Dedicated bus lines consume a lot of land area which is already non existent in Karachi. Therefore, the best alternate would be, elevated cable cars running on suspended cables latched on poles, like power lines.

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