KARACHI, July 1: The city government has decided to start construction of the much-awaited mass transit project Corridor-I, from Merewether Tower to Sohrab Goth, from next month.

Sources in the city government told Online that the City Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal, had directed the concerned department to complete evaluation of the proposals, submitted by two companies, by the end of July so that work could start on the project.

It may be mentioned that the project has been in pending for the last 20 years due to scarcity of funds and unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.

The construction of a mass transit system in the city had been planned after a girl student, Bushra Zaidi, was crushed to death by a speedy bus in 1986, which was followed by the worst ethnic riots in the city taking the lives of many people.

Sources said the city government had planned construction of a light train mass transit system Corridor-I on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. Three companies had offered their proposals for the project.

A proposal by a Chinese company was dropped, as it had offered to build a light rail system on credit finance basis, the sources said.

The other two companies had submitted their offers on BOT bases. The M-Trans had offered to a build a monorail mass transit system while the International Development Company (IDC) had offered a light rail mass transit system.

Sources said the city government would prefer the IDC’s offer, as it had followed the city government’s tender condition, which desired a light rail mass transit system.

An offer of a monorail mass transit system is also under scrutiny, as the concerned company has submitted two options; one to construct the technology on Corridor-I, and the other to build it in other parts of the city, the sources said.

The city government has appointed a consultant to examine the financial and technical documents submitted by the local and foreign companies for construction of the Corridor-I.—Online