A NEW HOPE FOR THE KARACHITES

   Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday performed the groundbreaking ceremony of Green Line Bus Rapid Transit System in Karachi.
    The project worth Rs16 billion is a significant milestone in upgrading and decongesting the overburdened transport infrastructure of Karachi. The project starts from Karachi’s Surjani Town area all the way to Gurumandir. The Green Line was to meet the Blue Line at Gurumandir and then go on to Tower, he said, adding that because work was delayed on the Blue Line, he asked for the Green Line to be extended to the central business district. Work will start on the Lyari Expressway in March, for which the federal government has released Rs1.9 billion already, he said.
    He said work on the Karachi-Hyderabad motorway has started, while construction of the Hyderabad-Sukkur section of the motorway will be set to start within a month. The Sukkur-Multan and Multan-Lahore sections will also start soon
   After its completion, the corridor is estimated to benefit nearly 300,000 passengers a day. The entire Rs16.85 million cost of the corridor funding has been provided by the federal government. A fully autonomous company – Karachi Infrastructure Development Company Limited (KIDCL) – has been incorporated to run the project. He appreciated the efforts of the law enforcement agencies for restoring peace in the city.
    However, he expressed his concern over the rise in the incidents of street crimes in Karachi and directed the authorities to take measures to ensure elimination of street crimes. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan thanked the prime minister for the mass transit project which he said was very significant for the development of Karachi.
    Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah also thanked the prime minister for providing financial assistance in the Green Line project. He a;lso praised the federal government for sharing 50 per cent cost of the K-4 water project in Karachi which will eliminate the water woes of the metropolis.