KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has directed the transport department to prepare a detailed design of the Bus Rapid Transit System’s Blue Line project by September so that work on the project could begin in November.

Giving timelines for development of the infrastructure of the project, he directed the transport minister to get the detailed design and bidding documents prepared so that procurement and mobilisation of contractors could be made in November.

He said this while presiding over a meeting on Blue Line here at the CM House on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by Transport and Information Minister Syed Nasir Shah, Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, Planning and Development Chairman Mohammad Waseem, Principal Secretary to CM Sohail Rajput, Transport Secretary Raheem Soomro, Finance Secretary Hassan Naqvi and officers of the Karachi Mass Transit Authority.

The transport minister said that the Blue Line project would start from Gurumandir to Al Asif Square in Sohrab Goth. “This would be a most important project for the city and would cost around Rs8 billion,” he said.

Bus to run from Gurumandir to Sohrab Goth

The transport secretary said that the length of the project is 11.80 kilometres, of which 6.6km would be elevated. It would have nine stations and five of them would be elevated. Around 357,000 people would commute on a daily basis upon completion of the project, he added.

Mass Transit director general Athar Ali said that there would be two packages of the project for which a modified PC-I would be submitted to the planning and development department.

In the first package, relocation of utilities would be taken up for which coordination with the utilities was in progress. In the second package the actual project would be undertaken.

He added that 30 acres was required for bus depot for which the transport department had sent a request to the Board of Revenue.

Action against encroachment, tanker mafia ordered

The CM also held a meeting with a delegation of the Defence Society Residents Association (DSRA) led by its president Sharafuddin Memon and discussed the issues faced by them.

The first issue was about encroachment near the Gizri flyover. They complained that the presence of shops of auto-mechanics was causing a traffic mess there. The road from Gizri to Zamzama was also encroached by shopkeepers and most of the people had turned it into a parking lot for trucks and dumpers.

The CM directed his secretary to ask the DIG Traffic and district municipal corporation South to take action in coordination with the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC).

The other issue was about the water taker “mafia” which they said charged exorbitant rates from DHA residents.

The CM issued instruction to Karachi Water and Sewerage Board chief Hashim Raza Zaidi to look into the matter and take action.

He told them that he had a plan to establish a desalination plant to provide water to DHA residents. “We would establish a plant but there should be an organisation to purchase water,” he suggested.

Mr Memon said that his association would coordinate with the CBC when the project was officially conceived or undertaken.

Another issue was related to the ongoing construction of the Submarine Chowrangi underpass.

They urged the CM to get it constructed at the earliest since schools were about to open shortly. The CM said that the construction work might take one more month but he would direct the traffic authorities to smartly manage the traffic particularly during school timings.

“I am going to cause you another traffic problem by starting work on the project of flyover from Gizri to Sunset Boulevard,” he said in a lighter tone. However, he assured them that the traffic would be managed.

Meanwhile, CM Shah held a meeting with a delegation of Aga Khan University led by its president Firoz Rasool and discussed the issues of the Education City being developed at Link Road, Karachi.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2017