The project was launched in 2016 and faced repeated delays due to administrative hurdles
MA Jinnah Road lies torn up outside the historic former Radio Pakistan building, its dust and trenches marking the slow, throbbing pulse of a city rebuilding itself. Photo: Express
KARACHI:
Work on Phase II of the Karachi Green Line Bus project is set to begin this week after being stalled for six years, officials confirmed on Sunday.
Federal government spokesperson Sindh Barrister Raja Ansari told The Express Pakinomist that the project will be completed within a year – by December 2026 – extending the modern bus link from Surjani Town to Jamia Cloth Market. Once operational, commuters will be able to travel this stretch within minutes, avoiding hours-long congestion on major arteries.
Ansari, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, MQM-P leader Aminul Haque and senior officials of the Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (PIDCL) are expected to formally announce the resumption of work at a joint press conference on Monday.
According to Ansari, construction had been halted due to reservations raised by Karachi’s mayor regarding the issuance of the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for Phase II. “I, along with PIDCL officials, met the mayor and resolved the matter amicably. The project is now back on track,” he said.
Phase-II spans a 1.8 kilometer dedicated corridor from Numaish Chowrangi to Municipal Park near Jamia Cloth Market. The expansion includes the construction of three more bus stations and entails an estimated expenditure of Rs5 billion. The work will be executed by PIDCL, a subsidiary of the federal government.
Currently, 80 buses are plying under Phase-I of the Green Line project serving around 80,000 passengers daily. Once Phase II is completed, another 70 buses will be added, increasing the system’s daily ridership to over 110,000 commuters traveling between Surjani Town and Jamia Cloth.
Ansari noted that though the Green Line project was initially launched in 2016, Phase II faced repeated delays due to administrative hurdles. He credited the coordinated efforts of the federal and Sindh governments along with Mayor Wahab for removing bottlenecks and paving the way for resumption of construction.
A formal announcement of the project’s restart will be made during Monday’s press conference, he added.
