PESHAWAR, Nov 8: The provincial government is considering a plan to purchase 50 buses run by compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport in the provincial capital, sources said.

They said the procurement of CNG buses was a part of a pilot project to be undertaken on the Haji Camp-Karkhano Bazaar route.

If it proved successful, the  service could be extended to other areas of the city, they said.

A committee was being formed with representatives from the finance, planning and development and law departments to review the plan, they said.

The city government, which would benefit from the revenue generated by plying the buses, would look after its administrative affairs.

The project will be a joint venture of the provincial and the city governments but the involvement of the private sector could also be considered, an official said.

“In India, some 400 compressed natural gas busses are inoperative due to shortage of fuel but we are taking into consideration all the merits and demerits of the system to ensure that it succeeds here,” the  official said.

About 1,800 private busses operate in the city.

A similar venture started by the government in the past had failed after incurring huge losses.

The official was optimistic that the system would work. He said a body responsible for running the system would have a stock of fuel so that in case of shortage the bus service did not stop.