ADB and CDGK to start bus rapid transit system
By Irfan Aligi
KARACHI: A new concept in urban transport systems is in the offing as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has allocated US$ 223 million for the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), to be launched in collaboration with the City District Government Karachi (CDGK). The BRTS would facilitate the transportation of at least 20,000 passengers on a persons-per-hour-per-direction basis.
ADB Karachi Mega City Sustainable Development Project (KMCSDP) Programme coordinator Roshan Ali Sheikh told Daily Times that the BRTS is a huge project that aims to provide people transport services of the same quality that is available in Western countries. The project encompasses the construction of 11 corridors, which will be built in the four tranches of the mega city project.
Under Tranche-1, the ADB has chosen three corridors, which are to be completed in three steps, preliminary design, detailed design and the implementation programme. The preliminary design is expected to begin within a month. The entire three-corridor project is slated to be completed within a record period of time of 24 months but if things go smoothly, this may be achieved within 18 months.
The BRTS will resemble a network of railway stations because instead of bus stops, there will be station-like compounds. Like railway tracks, no other transport will be allowed to ply on the track of buses under the BRTS.
The three corridors under Tranche-1 (which will be undertaken from 2008 to 2010) are Transit Route 1 from Surjani Town to the Quaid’s mausoleum (20 km, with potential for another 12 km to be added under a study being conducted currently), Route 2 from the Quaid’s mausoleum to Karachi University via Old Sabzi Mandi (14 km) and Route 3 in Orangi Town Extension (4 km). The corridors under Tranche-2 are Route 4 from Nagan Chowrangi to Landhi (21.5 km), Routes 5 and 6 in Rashidabad Extension and UP More Extension (2.7 km). Under Tranche-3 are Route 7 from Gulistan-e-Jauhar to University Road (4.7 km), Route 8 from KDA to Metropole via Shahra-e-Faisal (10.4 km), Route 9 from Shahrah-e-Quaideen (2.3 km), Route 10 from Korangi to Shahrah-e-Faisal (18 km) and Route 11 in Defense Housing Authority (DHA) (4.8 km).
The CDGK Mass Transit Cell director, General Malik Zaheer, told Daily Times that the BRTS is a CDGK project that came into being after the Pakistan government planning commission conducted a 3-month study on the possibilities of environment-friendly public transport systems for Karachi. The study yielded a solution based on 2 aspects: firstly, the use of CNG buses, which the government of Pakistan has opted to work on and secondly the design and development of the BRTS, which the ADB has picked to fund.
The buses plying under the BRTS will be environmentally friendly dedicated-CNG buses with a capacity of 160 persons. Special CNG stations with high filling pressure are required at the terminals so that every bus can get its tank filled within 2 minutes. City nazim Mustafa Kamal fully backs this project and is devoted to addressing the problems of the common man, said Zaheer.
Tranche-1 of the mega city project includes two more phases, which will also be funded by the ADB. These are the first phase of an Urban Traffic Control System (UTCS) and a key link road to the National Highway. The budget for all three phases of Tranche-1 is US $223 million.
It is to be noted here that the ADB will also be funding the remaining three tranches. Under Tranche-2 (slated for implementation from 2009-2012), US $132 million have been allocated for Routes 4 to 6 of the BRTS, US $27 million allocated to phase 2 of the UTCS and US $40 million for a link road to the Malir Expressway. A sum of US $199 million has been earmarked for Tranche-2. Tranche-3 has been allocated US $53 million, while Tranche-4 has been allocated US $185 million, of which US $165 million have been allocated for Routes 7 to 11 and US $20 million to a key link road. Hence, the ADB has allocated a total of US $660 million for these mega projects of the city in collaboration with the CDGK.
The sixth meeting of the steering committee for KMCSDP was held under Sindh Caretaker Finance Minister Deewan Yousuf Farooque on Sunday.
According to a hand out issued here on Sunday, the minister urged the officers concerned to speed up the process of ongoing development projects in city. KMCSDP Programme Coordinator Roshan Ali Sheikh explained the importance of the project and offered some suggestions for the improvement of water and sewerage systems in the city.
Src: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\02\26\story_26-2-2008_pg12_1