Karachi Breeze Red Line’s design phase nears completion
Staff Reporter
Islamabad
As the design phase of the Karachi Breeze Red Line nears completion, the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA) along with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the consultants team led by Integrated Transport Planning (ITP), hosted a 3-day roadshow in Istanbul for contractors.
The Contractors Roadshow attracted participants from Eastern and Western Europe, as well as, the Middle East and Asia. Officials from the Government of Sindh’s Transport and Mass Transit Department (TMTD) also attended the event.
The three-day event provided the perfect platform for potential contractors and consultants to learn about the Red Line project and the construction criteria required by the SMTA, ADB and ITP.
Speaking regarding the event, Peter Armitage, Technical Director of Integrated Transport Planning said, “The roadshow was very successful.We met with organisations that are the best in the world at what they do and are now looking forward to receiving high quality tenders for all aspects of the construction and development.”
Day one of the roadshow focused on civil works, day two on fleet and system control and day three on construction supervision. The team provided detailed presentations on all aspects of the project including the design of the stations, depots and street lighting, the bicycle sharing scheme and the biogas-fuelled BRT vehicles.
Attracting world class contractors is essential to ensuring the Red Line meets the expectations and needs of Karachi’s citizens. Bidding procedures and procurement plans were also presented to the contractors with the participants being informed that the lowest price will no longer determine the winning bid.
By requesting bids now, the SMTA, ADB and ITP want to ensure they are operationally ready at the time of the opening of the line.
The Karachi Breeze Red Line project will be a 3rd generation BRT system running along a 26.6 Km corridor including the main corridor from Numaish to Malir Halt and the segment of the common corridor from Municipal Park to Merewether Tower with the fleet comprising of 9m, 12m and 18m buses.
