KP govt to make soft opening of BRT by 23rd March: Shaukat

Farid Shinwari

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Ministers Shaukat Yousafzai on Wednesday reiterated that a soft opening of much-belated bus rapid transit (BRT) project would be made on 23rd March by bringing testing buses on route from Chamkani area of Hayatabad Peshawar. run Information Minister claimed the construction work on BRT would be completed till 23rd March and we will take start on that day from starting to end point. He said this while speaking during a media briefing after assembly session over speculations of further delay in opening of the project.

“The information technology (IT) work is underway and whenever it is properly installed, then a proper opening of the project would be made” he recalled. He informed that maximum work on the much-delayed-project has been fulfilled and Peshawarities will soon have a well equipped bus service on the route.

Comparing the bus rapid transit (BRT) project with the one constructed in Lahore by the then PML-Nawaz government, Mr.Yousafzai clarified the 27 kilometers Lahore BRT cost was Rs31billion completed 10-year ago while Peshawar’s sum is Rs29billion. Both projects have same length but the cost of the PML-N led Punjab government on BRT was higher than Peshawar, he argued. Sharing details about the project, he informed that Peshawar BRT has three well designed commercial plazas one each in Chamkani, Dabgari Darden and Haytabad which’s cost is Rs10.5billion. The said plazas would be completed till the end of May or last week of June, 2019, he added.

About Rs08billion will be spent on new buses, Rs01billion on old buses on to be scraped while the three lines roads on both sides of BRT has cost Rs11.4billion, he explained. We have constructed a long six kilometer bridge from Bala Hisar Fort to Shama Chowk in record time of one year, minister claimed. KP Information Minister came hard on opponents and saying the BRT was the last point of opposition leaders on agenda when it was designed by treasury and opposition benches. Regarding opposition leaders including Akram Khan Durani of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal and Inayatullah Khan of Jamaat-e-Islami, he alleged the project has no importance for them as they were scoring politically. We are not hiding anything pertaining to BRT project and we are all set for briefing on all forums but this project should not be made contentious, he asked. The official cost of the project is Rs66billion and it has not gone beyond it, he stated.

While castigating the successive governments of JUI-F and Awami National Party, Mr Yousafzai clearly said both parties in their each five-year government had not even constructed a half kilometer flyover near Central Jail but PTI after coming into power completed their project.

To a question, he replied that Asian Development Bank (ADB) had made hiring, consultants and others and even it cleared the billings of project. Provincial government does not concern with above-mentioned points and these all were done by ADB, he added.