Decides to ban old buses in Karachi
Provincial Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon met with Cemil Senocak Director Albayrak Group a Turkish company Monday and offered him to bring European Standard Electric public transport buses in Karachi.
Secretary Transport Abdul Haleem Sheikh, Managing Director Sindh Mass Transit Authority Capt. (retd) Altaf Hussain were also present on the occasion.
The Minister offered the Turkish company to bring European standard electric buses to Karachi as it (Karachi) is a metropolitan city with the best business opportunities. He said that Sindh Transport Department has planned to bring thousands of buses in the city and is working on modern BRT system in the metropolis under Red Line, Orange Line, People’s Intra-District Bus Service and Yellow Line. He also offered him to set up a manufacturing plant in Dhabeji Free Economic Zone. He said that options of Sindh government are open and prepared to extend every possible support to Turkish company to invest in public transport sector in Karachi. ‘We are ready to join hands under public private partnership mode. Government can provide subsidy on operating and maintenance of Buses which ever suits the company as Sindh government is very serious in giving modern, reliable transport facility to the people of Karachi.
The Provincial Minister said that Pakistan and Turkey have excellent cordial relations and they wanted that Turkish companies to invest in Sindh in the field of public transport.
Meanwhile, Sindh transport department has announced to ban old and outdated buses plying in Karachi after the completion of mass transit projects.
This was announced by Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, who also holds the portfolio of the transport and mass transit department.
In a statement, Memon said that the provincial government had conveyed the decision to the representative associations of the operators of public transport services in the city.
“Thousands of buses are being brought to Karachi for which talks have been held with China and Turkey,” he said. He further said that People’s Bus Service would begin in Karachi in the current month.
He further shared: “Work on the Red Line project in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank is in full swing while a proposal has also come up on the Blue Line project”.
Sharjeel Memon said that work on the Orange Line BRT project is almost completed and project would be launched by the end of June.
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon had set a May 30 deadline for the completion of the project.
