PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has finalised feasibility for launching rapid bus service in the provincial metropolis and started contacts with investors in this regard.

However, the provincial government is waiting for the final approval of different federal departments to initiate work on the project.

Mohsin Aziz, the vice chairman of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade (KP BoIT), told a press conference here onMonday that sole purpose of the rapid bus service project was to provide better transport facility to the people of Peshawar.

However, he said that some vested interest elements wanted to make the project a victim of politics. Those elements wanted to deprive people of such mega projects, he said.

Flanked by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry former president Ghulam Sarwar Khan Mohmand, former chief of Pesco Mohammad Yunas Khan Marwat and Subhan Ejaz, Mr Aziz said that the management of BoIT and provincialchiefsecretaryheldthree to four meetings with officials of Pakistan Railways, who studied the plan and didn`t raise any objection.

He said that the feasibility of the project was prepared in such a technical manner that no one had so far objected to it. He expressed astonishment over some media reports according to which the ministries of railways and defence had raisedobjections about the project. Such baseless news items, he said, could only create confusion about the mega public welfare project.

The BoIT vice chairman said that neither the ministry of railways nor the ministry of defence had raised any objection about the project.

The impression was created by some vested interest elements, especially encroachment mafia, he added. `Besides, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has not only appreciated the project but also supported it and extended full cooperation in this regard,` Mr Aziz said.

He said that the route of the bus was 25-kilometre long, from Chamkani to Hayatabad Industrial Estate. The bus would reach from the starting point to its final destination only in 60 minutes with no halt for VIP movement except for ambulances, he added. He said that only issue was the three kilometres distance from Chamkani to City Railway Station for which land was sanctioned.Mr Aziz said that the rapid bus service would not create any hurdle in the movement of trains.

Presently only three trains were using the track daily and even if the number of trains reached 20 there would be no problem for them, he added.

The BoIT vice chairman said that pillars would be erected for construction of the overhead bridge from Nauthia to Hayatabad. He said that the railway track had not been used for the past several decades but even then the rapid bus services would not cause any problem for the trains.

Initially, the route of the bus was consisted of only 13 stations but now 21 stops have also been included in it. The project, to be completed at a cost of Rs14 billion, will provide better transport facility to about 0.1 million people on daily basis.

Mr Aziz said that the project was the best precedent of public-private partnership, involving no subsidy orincentivesfor the operators.Thecommuters would be charged only Rs30 to Rs40, he said, adding that initially 52 buses would be run on the route.

The BoIT vice chairman said that the project was likely to be completed in a period of 14 to 16 months.

The width of the double carriage bus route would be 24 feet while each station would be 32 feet wide, he said.

The federal government, he said, could not reject the plan on technical grounds. He added that officials of ministries of railways and defence had already agreed to the project principally. `Now the problem is only political,` he said and seemed optimistic the approval of the project.

Mr Aziz also demanded lifting of ban on issuance of new gas connections in the province. He said that the province was generating 370 MMCFD to 380 MMCFD gas while the industries were utilising only 40 MMCFD gas but even then new connections were banned in the province.commuters would be charged only Rs30 to Rs40, he said, adding that initially 52 buses would be run on the route.

The BoIT vice chairman said that the project was likely to be completed in a period of 14 to 16 months.

The width of the double carriage bus route would be 24 feet while each station would be 32 feet wide, he said.

The federal government, he said, could not reject the plan on technical grounds. He added that officials of ministries of railways and defence had already agreed to the project principally. `Now the problem is only political,` he said and seemed optimistic the approval of the project.

Mr Aziz also demanded lifting of ban on issuance of new gas connections in the province. He said that the province was generating 370 MMCFD to 380 MMCFD gas while the industries were utilising only 40 MMCFD gas but even then new connections were banned in the province.