Skip to main content

Sindh govt cancels BRT Red Line construction contract, to re-award it on an emergency basis: Sharjeel Memon

The Sindh government has cancelled the construction contract for the long-delayed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line project in Karachi and will re-award it on an “emergency basis”, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon confirmed on Wednesday.

The government cancelled the contract for the Mosamiyat–Numaish section of the project.

The stalled construction on the Red Line resumed in November after the removal of several bottlenecks following the chief minister’s intervention, but there is still no clear timeline in sight for the project’s completion as thousands of University Road commuters continue to face daily hardships.

Speaking to Dawn, Memon confirmed that the contract had been terminated due to delays in the project’s execution by the contractor.

He said the contractor was issued several warnings to complete the work within the stipulated time, but failed to comply.

The government, he added, tried its level best to accommodate the contractor by resolving issues related to rate escalation.

Memon added that the Asian Development Bank, which funds the project, was unhappy with the pace of work, as were stakeholders concerned about environmental impact.

He said the remaining work on the Red Line project would now be contracted out on an emergency basis.

“To ensure early completion, the remaining work will be split into smaller packages and awarded to more than one contractor,” he added.

Designed to cover around 27 kilometres from Malir Halt to Numaish via University Road, the BRT Red Line project was announced in 2017 with an initial cost of around Rs79 billion, but due to persistent delays and mismanagement by the provincial government, the estimated cost has now escalated to Rs103bn.

After commencement of the work in early 2022, the project was initially scheduled for completion by 2023, which was later pushed to 2024 and subsequently extended to the end of 2026.

For many, even the revised timeline appears to be wholly unrealistic as the project continues to progress at a snail’s pace. Various factors have been cited by officials to justify these delays, including disputes with contractors, safety stoppages, rising construction costs due to depreciation of the rupee, difficulties in land acquisition, relocation of utilities and coordination failures between implementing agencies.

In December of last year, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah directed authorities to expedite work on the line during an inspection of the project from Malir Cantonment to Numaish. He was told that delays were because of heavy rains, utility relocation issues and design changes.

In September, the Sindh High Court said that all stakeholders should be taken on board and efforts should be made to resolve disputes to ensure that work on the project be carried out continuously.



from Dawn - Home https://ift.tt/10tUkM4
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani skipping home run derby

Baseball’s biggest star is skipping the home run derby. Shohei Ohtani confirmed after Tuesday’s win over the Diamondbacks that he will not be participating as he continues to rehab an elbow injury that has prevented him from pitching this season. “There’s been some conversations going on,” Ohtani said, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com . “I’m in the middle of my rehab progression, so it’s not going to look like I’ll be participating.” Manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani and the club reached the decision together. Ohtani signed a historic 10-year, $700-million contract with the Dodgers after winning his second AL MVP award last season with the Angels. Despite his elbow injury, he has served as the Dodgers’ primary DH this season and been one of the most productive hitters in baseball. Ohtani entered Tuesday hitting .316/.399/.635 with a 1.034 OPS. He hit his NL-leading 27th home run in the win. Ohtani had previously participated in the Derby in 2021. Last season’s champion, Vlad...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pakistan flag installed at UNSC as country becomes non-permanent member for 8th time

The Pakistani national flag was installed in front of the United Nations Security Council chamber, as the country began its eighth term as a non-permanent member (2025-26) of the 15-member body, according to a press release issued by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations on Thursday. Pakistan on Wednesday began a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Elected in June to replace Japan, Pakistan now occupies one of the two Asia-Pacific seats on the UNSC. It will preside over the council in July, a key opportunity to set the agenda and foster dialogue. View this post on Instagram This marks Pakistan’s eighth term on the council, providing an opportunity to shape discussions on pivotal international issues, but also posing significant challenges. “As part of the joining ceremony, flags of the five new incoming non-permanent members — Pakistan, Denmark, Greece, Panam...
Post a Comment
Read more

Heathrow resumes operations as global airlines scramble after shutdown

London’s Heathrow Airport resumed full operations on Saturday, a day after a fire knocked out its power supply and shut Europe’s busiest airport, causing global travel chaos. The travel industry was scrambling to reroute passengers and fix battered airline schedules after the huge fire at an electrical substation serving the airport. Some flights had resumed on Friday evening, but the shuttering of the world’s fifth-busiest airport for most of the day left tens of thousands searching for scarce hotel rooms and replacement seats while airlines tried to return jets and crew to bases. Teams were working across the airport to support passengers affected by the outage, a Heathrow spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We have hundreds of additional colleagues on hand in our terminals and we have added flights to today’s schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers travelling through the airport,” the spokesperson said. The travel industry, facing the prospect of a financial ...
Post a Comment
Read more