KARACHI: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar has said that the government is, for the first time, introducing a modern transport system in Karachi.
The minister said this while addressing a ceremony of arrival of the first batch of 40 buses for Green Line Project at Karachi Port on Sunday.
Asad Umer stated that the federal government has achieved another milestone as part of the Prime Minister’s Karachi Transformation Package (KTP). He further stated that Green Line BRTS is a modern technology-based transport system comprising a 22 km dedicated corridor aimed at providing easier mobility and facilitating daily ridership of 135,000 passengers per day.
He informed that a comprehensive command and control centre had been established for the projects including Green Line, Orange Line, etc. The second consignment of 40 more buses is expected to reach in October, and the Green Line would be made operational by the end of November.
He said that the Green Line is the first state-of-the-art project, which was being introduced to the city with 20.5 kilometre long corridor. A bus depot has been built for 80 buses whereas 22 bus stations had been completed.
Addressing the ceremony, Governor Sindh Imran Ismail appreciated the efforts made by Sindh Infrastructure Development Co Ltd (SIDCL) for ensuring completion of the Green Line project within its timelines. The dedicated corridor serves some of Karachi’s most populated areas, namely Surjani Town to Gurumandir and Numaish Chowrangi (Phase 1), he said, adding while Phase 1 goes live in November 2021, Phase 2 (terminating at Municipal Park) is scheduled for late 2022.
SIDCL CEO Nadeem Lodhi explained to the audience that the underlying fleet is low entry 18m articulated diesel-hybrid self-charging technology which benefits the environment. The fleet is equipped with modern intelligent transport systems (ITS) such as automatic location system, real time passenger information, surveillance cameras and auto-doors.
He said the fleet is designed to offer comfortable modular seats, air-conditioning, digital screens and space for advertisement. The fleet is designed to cater to people with special needs, will also benefit the environment by reducing the use of fossil fuels, limiting emissions & reduced journey time.
He said that post-port clearance, the fleet will be transported under the supervision of a Chinese technical team to its new home at the dedicated Bus Depot located in Surjani Town. Following an intense period of technical reviews, inspection, classroom driver training, etc, the fleet will commence training sorties on the corridor by mid-October. Subsequent to full-fledged user acceptance testing (UAT), Green Line commercial operations will commence by end November 2021, he further said.
