Pakistan has signed an agreement with a Chinese company for procurement of buses for Karachi’s Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) Green Line project, it was learnt on Wednesday. According to the sources, an agreement has been signed with a Chinese company, which will provide 80 buses for the Green Line BRT and 20 buses for the Orange Line project, sources said. The buses are expected to reach Pakistan in next five to six months, according to sources. The government officials had earlier said that the Green Line BRT project will be completed by mid-2021 to provide modern transport to Karachi citizens.In November, Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited (SIDCL) had approved the purchase of buses for the Green Line BRT. According to the tender, 80 vehicles would be purchased at a cost of Rs 3 billion for Karachi. Existing public transport system in the city said to be the worst across the globe. The BRT Green Line project with intersections has a 24 km long route, which includes 12.7 km elevated, 10.9 km at grade, and 422 meters underground route, and has 25 stations. The phase-II common corridor from Gurumandir up to Municipal Park with a length of 2.5 km has two underpasses at M.A Jinnah Road. The state-of-art underground bus terminal with a parking facility and the commercial mezzanine floor has been constructed at Numaish area.
