PESHAWAR: Special assistant to the chief minister for transport and mass transit Malik Shah Mohammad Khan Wazir on Tuesday said the government would hire separate contractors to ensure speedy execution of the three phases of the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit project.
Mr Wazir told at the cabinet room of the Civil Secretariat here said the first phase of the project would cover the area from Chamkani to Balahisar Fort, the second from Balahisar to Aman Chowk and third from Aman Chowk to Hayatabad.
`We are going to award separate contracts for each phase to ensure speedy work on the project,` he said.
The CM`s special assistant said though limited time was available to complete work, the government was committed to successfully executing the project from six to eight months.
He said the BRT project`s PC-1 approvedbytheCentralDevelopment Working Party carried a price tag of Rs49.34 billion, including Rs41.88 billion to be provided by the Asian Development Bank and Rs7.45 billion by the provincial government.
Mr Wazir said the BRT project`s fleet would comprise 447 buses, including 303 12-meter long and 144 nine-meter long buses.
He said the bus service would have seven feeder routes to benefit more and more local residents.
The CM`s special assistant said the government won`t offer subsidy on bus fare and that the project was likely to generate enough money to pay the loan acquired for it.
He said the bus service would be cheaper than similar ones launched in Lahore, Multan and Islamabad.
