PESHAWAR: The board of directors of TransPeshawar, the operator of the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit, on Thursday decided to purchase 50 more buses for the mass transit fleet through open bidding.

The board met here with additional chief secretary (planning and development) Ikramullah Khan in the chair.

The meeting was attended by transport secretary Masud Younas, Peshawar Development Authority director general Mohammad Naeed Khan, KP Urban Mobility Authority managing director Parvaiz Sabatkhel, TransPeshawar chief executive officer Dr Murtaza Bukhari, and other board members.

The TransPeshawar chief briefed the board about agenda items. Following detailed discussions, the board made key decisions to improve the Peshawar BRT’s system.

It discussed the procurement of additional buses for the BRT fleet as the KP government has already approved the purchase of 50 new 12-meter buses, which will be added to the current fleet of 244 operational buses. The buses will operate on new routes which include Bara Road, Khyber Road and Ring Road.

The board was informed about the procurement options, including procurement from the existing vendor, Golden Dragon, or initiating an open tender process, as well as the estimated costs, delivery timelines and potential financial savings.

It decided that the procurement process would be carried out ensuring complete adherence to the current regulations of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Procurement Regulatory Authority. The case will be presented to the chief minister and cabinet for approval.

Moreover, the board was given a detailed presentation on the Zu Business Centre in Chamkani, which was recently handed over to TransPeshawar.

The Chamkani centre is one of the three commercial plazas developed under the BRT project, alongside the Mall of Hayatabad and the Zu Business Centre in Dabgari. The plazas were constructed with the objective of land-value capture and increasing non-fare revenue to reduce the project’s reliance on government subsidies.

The board also approved the reserved price for the commercial centre and allowed TransPeshawar to invite tenders for the lease. After the board’s approval, TransPeshawar will lease the centre to private entities through an open auction and to government entities in line with government regulations.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2025