KARACHI: The much-awaited Green Line bus rapid transit system in the country’s biggest metropolis is set to be rolled out in coming weeks as ships laden with 40 buses are likely to reach the Sindh capital soon.
The development was announced by Sindh Governor Imran Ismail who took to his Twitter to publicize the progress as earlier the project remained stalled for one reason or the other, mostly political ones.
It’s been almost more than five years as Karachiites are still waiting to see the first metro bus in the country’s financial capital as the commuters suffered a great deal due to the botched construction along with the dust-filled atmosphere.
The development is a sigh of relief for Karachi residents as the vessels departed the Tianjin port of China and are set to reach the South Asian country soon.
“Green line first 40 buses being loaded in China. Inshallah, very soon Karachi will see the first mass transit system of Sindh. Thank you, PM Khan”, Governor Sindh wrote on a microblogging site which also sparked controversy as many social media users accused Imran Khan-led government of stealing credit of ousted Prime Minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.
Green line first 40 busses being loaded in China. Inshallah very soon karachi will see first mass transit system of Sindh. Thank you PM Khan. @ImranKhanPTI pic.twitter.com/bzyxtMiyGI
— Imran Ismail (@ImranIsmailPTI) August 28, 2021
As some hailed the former PM for the initiative, others highlighted that the provincial government issued tenders, but there is no staff to operate the BRT buses.
Many expressed concerns while citing lack of supervision due to the ‘incompetent’ government of the Pakistan People Party.
Let it be known that the federal-funded project was inaugurated by former PM Nawaz Sharif with the initial cost of Rs16.85 billion. Later, the project was extended by another 10 kilometers as initially sought by the Sindh government and the estimated cost crossed the figure of Rs24bn, the project has 25 stations across Karachi city.
Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah recently issued directives to review the work on Green Line, which is being undertaken by the Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (SIDCL).
It was revealed earlier that the government had assigned the task to the federally-owned Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Ltd to purchase buses for the Orange Line section of the BRTS that will also connect with the Green Line service in Karachi.
Earlier in June, some media reports revealed that the expensive equipment for the construction of at least 22 bus stations was stolen or destroyed including power cables, motors, aluminum sheets, chairs, and elevators as the project remained stalled for years.
Equipment stolen for the construction of 22 bus stations including power cables, motors, aluminum sheets, chairs, elevators, metal sheets The increase has led to a slowdown in development work.
The Green Line bus project in Karachi is facing some or the other test every day. pic.twitter.com/SiWnNCx8du
— Developing Pakistan (@developingpak) June 20, 2021
Furthermore, a foreign company, GRUPSA Door Systems has claimed that a Pakistani contractor extracted billions of rupees from the Green Line Project funds almost two years ago.
BIG BREAKING NEWS
“Multi Billions Corruption of MGH Engineering and Control Pvt Limited came into radar denting the image of Pakistan among international comity”
“MGH CEO Dr Muhammad Mansoor&gang swallowed 2.7m Euros by dispatch forged documents/receipts/invoices in pic.twitter.com/hCiDnlcrJ6
— Israr Ahmed Rajpoot (@ia_rajpoot) February 19, 2021
The top-ranked Spanish company that holds a repute for its automatic equipment and related services, has registered the complaint with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The letter of construction giant urges Pakistan’s anti-corruption watchdogs to investigate the matter immediately, and to apprehend the guilty parties on the grounds of electronic forgery, the unauthorized use of identity, electronic fraud, corruption, and embezzlement.
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