Baqar wants KCR land issues resolved before Beijing meeting

Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar has directed the Sindh Mass Transit Authority to prepare a comprehensive presentation on the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) to remove all the bottlenecks in implementing the project.

The province’s caretaker chief minister said the presentation needs be approved in the meeting the Chinese authorities have convened next month in Beijing to make KCR a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He said the city’s transport issue would be resolved when KCR, the bus rapid transit (BRT) projects and their feeder projects are completed, and enabled to supplement and complement each other, otherwise the issue would remain unresolved.

He issued these directives during a meeting of the transport & mass transit department that he chaired on Wednesday to review the progress of their ongoing projects.

Transport Secretary Asad Zamin told the meeting that the KCR project would cost around $2 billion. The KCR route connects high-density residential areas of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nazimabad and North Nazimabad with the business districts (Sharea Faisal, II Chundrigar Road and Tower) and the SITE Industrial Area.

KCR also has six interchange points with other mass transit corridors identified in the city’s master plan, making it essential for mobility, connectivity and accessibility for the residents. KCR comprises a 30km loop line going across the city, while it has a 13km section along the Pakistan Railway’s main line.

Zamin said there are some land issues with the railway authorities, so Baqar directed Chief Secretary Dr Fakhr-e-Alam to hold a meeting with the railways ministry and remove any bottlenecks so that the project can be approved in the meeting with the Chinese authorities.

The meeting was told that the Green Line BRT project funded by the federal government and the Orange Line BRT project of the provincial government are functional, in addition to the intra-district Peoples Bus Service in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana.

The meeting was also told that the Pink Bus Service, which is exclusively for women, and electric buses are running in the city as well.

Regarding Green Line, the meeting was told that the project has a 20.9km corridor. It would be handed over to the provincial government next year. It has a ridership of 55,000 people a day.

Baqar directed the transport department to prepare the standard operating procedure for the Green Line buses and inspect them regularly so that their condition can be assessed at the time of taking over.

In response to a question, the interim CM was told that the Green Line corridor was supposed to be constructed up to Sabri Nihari Chowk on MA Jinnah Road but it has been terminated at Numaish.

Baqar directed the transport department to take up the issue with the federal government and request them to complete it up to the Merewether Tower. Zamin said planning is under way to construct the Red Line BRT project up to Tower.

Regarding Orange Line, the meeting was told that the project was established by the provincial government through a development scheme conceived under its Annual Development Programme.

Orange Line is a small project of 3km with a ridership of 3,000 passengers a day. Baqar directed the transport department to study the prospect of expanding the project to 10-15km so that its ridership and utility can be increased.

Regarding Red Line, the meeting was told that the foreign-funded project is a 24km undertaking, and work on its corridor is in progress on a war footing.

Baqar said the construction work has created traffic flow issues on University Road. He directed the transport department to make the side pathways of the road wider so that traffic congestion can be reduced, particularly during peak hours.

He also directed the traffic police to ensure proper traffic management on the road until the project’s completion. The meeting was also attended by Planning & Development Board Chairman Shakeel Mangnejo, Principal Secretary to CM Agha Wasif and others.