KARACHI, May 24: Urban development experts, government officials and representatives of an international donor agency have agreed to accelerate efforts for the Karachi transportation improvement project, which includes Karachi circular railways and bus rapid transit (BRT) system, as approaching challenges of growing population and traffic congestion can make the execution of the crucial project more difficult.

Speaking at a seminar on `Karachi transportation improvement project` organised by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) in collaboration with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Thursday, they also pledged to cooperate on behalf of their respective organisation to make the project a success.

In his presentation, Minoru Shibuya, leader of the JICA study team that carried out a detailed survey of Karachi transportation system within two years, highlighted future challenges and called for the immediate planning to meet them.`Currently Karachi accommodates over 18 million people, but by 2035 its population is likely to reach 31.6 million that is close to Tokyo`s,` he said.

`Consistent growth in population will definitely compound commuting and traffic problems. In this scenario, it`s time to find out solutions to transport problems in the city.

He suggested the BRT system for Karachi considering the need and traffic challenges in the city that promised a `high-quality bus-based transit system that delivers fast comfortable and costeffective mobility.

He said the system could deliver its best through the provision of segregated right-of-way infrastructure, rapid and frequent operations and excellence in marketing and customer service. He also cited the successful operation of the system in Istanbul, Beijing, Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok, New Delhi, Jakarta and Lima for as long as eight years.

Abdul Rasheed Mughal, director general of the KMC`s Karachi MassTransport Cell (KMTC), termed the JICA study a `key document` and a `crucial input` for designing urban transport that catered to the population needs and contributed to the city`s economic development.

`The population growth of Karachi has jumped manifold over the past two decades and unfortunately the transport facilitation process remained below the required level,` he said. `The absence of an effective public transport system has put commuters in challenging complication and as a result today around 56 per cent of the city`s population here is compelled to travel by inadequate and poorly maintained transport.

During a question and answer session, several participants complained of poor implementation of traffic rules that multiplied traffic woes.

Responding to one of the queries, SSP (Traffic) Zulfiqar Mehar highlighted an overall decline in social values that affected the law-enforcement agency as well.