PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has ordered operationalisation of 100 air-conditioned buses from Chamkani to Hayatabad to provide comfortable transportation services to the citizens.

According to a statement issued here on Sunday, the chief minister issued these directives while presiding over a high-level meeting convened to discuss Peshawar mass transit project at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat here.

The meeting was attended by special assistant to the CM for transport Shah Mohammad Wazir, MPAs Shaukat Yousafzai and Javed Nasim, district nazim Arbab Asim, chief secretary and representatives of the Asian Development Bank.

Secretary transport told the meeting that these 100 buses would be run at corridor-2 starting from Chamkani and ending at Karkhano Market in Hayatabad. He said the latest bus service would also be introduced at Ring Road and Hayatabad Township soon.

The chief minister ordered the authorities concerned to make the project beneficial for the citizens. He asked them to introduce 100 buses in the first phase and increase the number with the passage of time. The authorities concerned were also directed to float expression of interest to search a suitable firm for implementation of the project.

Highlighting the main features of the bus rapid transport project in Peshawar city, the secretary transport said that free feasibility of the project was already completed while feasibility study initiated in January this year would be completed till August.

He said engineering designing of the project to be initiated in July this year would be completed in November. He said construction work on the corridor-2 from Chamkani to Hayatabad would be initiated in January next year at a cost of Rs20 billion, which would be provided by the Asian Development Bank as loan to the provincial government.

Published in Dawn, February 29th, 2016