The World Bank has assured that it will complete the design of Karachi’s Rs61 billion 22-km long Yellow Line BRT corridor. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and World Bank Country Director Najy Benhassine met to discuss progress on Wednesday. The Yellow line has been developed along Korangi and Korangi Industrial Area roads, connecting Korangi, Landhi, Bin Qasim towns. These are large and dense industrial and residential areas. It will also service Clifton Cantonment, outer Jamshed Town and the Central districts of Karachi Cantonment, inner Jamshed Town and Saddar Town. Benhassine assured the CM that the design would be completed as soon as possible. This includes design for its infrastructure, drainage, lighting, busways, stations, terminal and depot. The BRT will have a one-kilometer mixed route on Shahrah-e-Faisal, eight underpasses and two elevated U-turns. It will run 268 buses for 28 stations, including 22 at grade or ground level and six at the underpasses. The World Bank signed the agreement with the federal government to provide a $382 million loan for the development of Karachi’s bus rapid transit (BRT) Yellow Line. The loan has been given under the overall Karachi Mobility Project. It will need to be paid back in 25.5 years with a grace period of 6.5 years. The Yellow line will take an estimated $438 million. The Sindh government is also paying for it and it is expected to be completed by 2022. According to the World Bank’s and Japanese studies, Karachi has about 10,000 kilometers of roads and six arteries that extend from its centre. The city does not have any mass transit system. People make nearly 13.5 million motorized trips each day of which about half are made by public and half by private transport.
