Tariq Saeed
The much talked about Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Peshawar, that saw six deadlines for its completion, is going to be fully functional on August 13 as Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is all set to inaugurate the Mega project of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government the same day, or a day later, on the independence of the country.
It may be recalled that BRT which cost has swelled to over 70 billion Rupees from 40 billion has been subjected to sharp criticism both from the masses, opposition parties as well as the experts besides the business community over “faulty design, ill planning and ill timing that has led to unnecessary delay besides charges of huge kickbacks which the government rubbished every time.
While the Prime Minister Imran Khan had also taken serious notice of the delay in the completion of the first Mega project of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa initiated in the previous government of PTI led by Pervez Khattak, the incumbent Chief Minister Mahmood Khan had directed to work day and night for completion of the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
In fact the BRT that was initially planned to be completed in the tenure of former Chief Minister Pervez Khattak saw six deadlines that exposed the PTI government to sharp criticism especially from the rival political forces and provided an opportunity to the already hostile opponents of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf to exploit the situation to the maximum extent.
Resultantly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government led by Pervez Khattak had dismissed the chief executive officer of TransPeshawar over charges of poor performance that allegedly led to the delay in the inauguration of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in the city. TransPeshawar is a company that is responsible for the BRT project design, procurement, implementation, on-going BRT operations and service contract management.
So much so that on November, 14 last the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had handed down the judgment on BRT Peshawar and directed the FIA to probe the Project and submit the report within 45 days though the verdict of the PHC was challenged by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) who managed to secure stay order from the Supreme Court of Pakistan. On April 25, the Supreme Court had extended stay order against the Peshawar
High Court’s ruling over BRT Peshawar project.
Official documents have estimated that the initial estimate for the BRT project was Rs49.43 billion, however, the cost of the revised PC-1 had increased to Rs66.43 billion, which was further increased to Rs70 billion. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and AFD had provided $593 million loan for the project, while the remaining amount was provided by the provincial government.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Labor and Culture Shaukat Yousafzai has Tuesday said that despite COVID 19, Chief Minister Mehmood Khan supervised and ensured work on BRT day and night, due to which the project has been completed and it will be formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan on August 13 along with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan. “This is a big project that has been completed with transparency,” Shaukat Yousafzai said adding No one can prove corruption in this project and if the opposition has any evidence of corruption in this project bring that and Chief Minister Mehmood Khan himself will punish those involved in corruption
As the long-awaited project is eventually being inaugurated on August 13, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has also announced the fares for the BRT service. The BRT project consists of a 27.5km main track and 31 stations while the length of the feeder routes is 62km and has 146 stops.
The main track is connected to seven different areas of the city so that the people can travel from their areas in small buses to reach the main route. Three mega commercial plazas would be completed in June 2021, but the bus parking areas are ready. About 60,000 travelling cards have been sold in just four days. The Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) has already handed over the route and stations to Trans Peshawar which has already completed installation of Intelligence Ticking System (ITS).
According to documentation, the minimum bus fare for Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will be Rs15 while a maximum fare of Rs 50 has been set by the provincial government. The dwellers of provincial metropolis Peshawar have, however, taken a sigh of relief that uncertainty about the BRT was over and finally the BRT busses would be running on the roads in a day or two providing them an opportunity to travel in the state of the art service having all the facilities of the modern era.
