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Thursday March 28, 2024

Sindh govt seeks final plan in three weeks for local production of buses

By Our Correspondent
August 06, 2022

Sindh Information and Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has asked prospective private investors from China to finalise their plan in the next three weeks to establish an assembly line in the province for the manufacturing of public transport buses.

He sought the finalisation of a local bus manufacturing plan as he held on Friday the second meeting with Country Manager Yutong Bus from China Paul Zhang. Others who attended the meeting included local partners of the Yutong Bus company and officials concerned.

The meeting took into consideration the progress made so far in building an assembly line for the local production of buses for mass transportation in Sindh. It was told that the proposed manufacturing unit would be established on 15 to 18 acres of an area where 500 buses would be made annually. The plant could be established in 16 to 20 months.

The transport minister said the Sindh government could become a partner in the proposed manufacturing facility either through the Sindh Bank or the Sindh Mass Transit Authority. He said the option was open for Yutong Bus to join hands with any prospective local business to jointly launch the manufacturing facility.

Memon said the Sindh government could go to any length and had the resolve to provide all the due facilities for setting up such a local manufacturing facility. He assured the participants of the meeting that there was no delay on the part of the government in this regard as they had the resolve to launch the project at the earliest.

He said the Sindh government was ready to provide the guarantee that whichever political party formed the next government after the general elections next year would be under an obligation to fully support the project.

Memon said the Sindh government had been striving to launch a modern transportation system in every big city in the province. He said the availability of a local assembly line would ensure the provision of quality buses for passengers at the lowest rates.

He told the meeting that talks were also underway with the World Bank for bringing public buses for the citizens, and people would soon get good news in this regard. He said the Sindh government had been working on the plan to bring thousands of buses to Karachi.

He mentioned that the chief minister had recently sanctioned the release of Rs1.5 billion for the repair of roads, which were part of different routes of the newly launched People’s Bus Service in Karachi. He said the work had started immediately to repair and renovate the city’s roads.

Road repairs ordered

Sindh Local Government (LG) Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and LG, Housing and Town Planning Secretary Engineer Syed Najam Ahmad Shah on Friday visited various areas of the city to review the ongoing development projects, routes of the Peoples Bus Service, and repair work of damaged roads.

They visited Malir, Khokhrapar, Shah Faisal Colony, Korangi Crossing and Korangi Causeway and ordered speeding up the development work. Shah also visited the route of the Peoples Bus Service from Tower to Khokhrapar and gave necessary instructions to the technical staff.

Speaking to the media, the LG minister said the bus service was a gift by the Sindh government for the people of Karachi, adding that the development work on three routes of the bus service had been started, while work on four other routes would be started immediately after Ashura.

As per instructions given by Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the government had been working on several projects which would provide long-lasting relief and facilities to the people.

Shah visited an Imambargah and met volunteers and Ulema to promote religious tolerance and harmony during Muharram. He gave instructions to the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board’s chief to improve the sanitation situation in the city and directed the administrators to repair the roads affected by heavy downpours over the past month.