KARACHI: With frequent interruptions in its construction and no progress at all during the past several months, multi-million-dollar bus rapid transit (BRT) Red Line poses fresh challenge for the newly-installed government of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) which admitted on Saturday that the project had already faced ‘enough delays’.

Chairing a meeting to review the progress of the transport department and discuss the construction of the BRT Red Line, Sindh Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said that the Sindh government “could not afford further delays” in the completion of the Asian Development Bank-funded mega project.

“The Red Line project has already faced enough delays. We cannot afford further delays. Early completion of the project is crucial for relief and facilitation of the people of Karachi,” a statement issued after the meeting quoted the minister as saying.

The statement, between the lines, hinted at ‘several issues and obstacles’ in the smooth completion of the project as the minister during the meeting also issued directives to the officials concerned for early resolution of all problems.

“All stakeholders must sit together and ensure removal of all obstacles and issues in completion of the project,” said the minister. “We need to do efforts more than the past so the project can be completed and offer transport facility to the people of Karachi. The people of Karachi are desperately waiting for the completion of the project to avail better transport services,” he said.

Sources said that the government was facing serious challenges in completing the Red Line project amid fast-escalating cost of construction materials and depreciation of Pakistani rupee.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2024