Karachi BRT Red Line Project Will Boost Pakistan's Transport Sector Sustainably: ADB

The Karachi Bus Rapid Transit Red Line Project will transform the transport sector in Pakistan and is one of the three recent projects launched by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for enhancing Asia’s transport sector more sustainably.

Bambang Susantono, Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development of the ADB, shared details about the Karachi Bus Rapid Transit Red Line Project at the Intergovernmental 13th Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum in Asia to give a sense of where future ADB transport sector work is heading.

Susantono explained that the Karachi Bus Rapid Transit Red Line Project in Pakistan will help improve urban access through bus-based public transport. "It will relieve congestion, minimize road accidents, and reduce the pollution that would have come from growing use of private cars," he adds.

The Karachi Bus Rapid Transit Red Line Project was approved on the 5th of July 2019, and will be completed in 2022. The total project cost amount to $503.2 million, out of which $235 million will be covered by the Asian Development Bank. The rest of the project cost will be divided amongst the AFD, AIIB, GCF loan and grant, and the Sindh Government, which will cover $75.6 million from the total cost.

In addition to providing safe and efficient public transport in the crowded city of Karachi, the project aims to develop institutional capacity through the establishment of a mass-transit authority and a BRT operating company. Moreover, this project aims to promote sound and innovative operational planning (third generation BRT with 110-km of direct service routes) and financial sustainability.

According to the Susantono, the Karachi Bus Rapid Transit Red Line Project will make Karachi more livable through the reconstruction of a full corridor through the inclusion of proper sidewalls, bike lanes, energy-efficient street lighting, green areas and organized street parking. This will improve universal accessibility and connectivity of the city.

In addition to this, this project also hopes to mitigate climate change through climate-proofing of the corridor and low-emission vehicle technology (CNG-hybrid) with a waste-to-fuel scheme to produce biomethane from cattle waste.

The three transport related ADB projects including the Karachi Bus Rapid Transit Red Line Project, hope to exemplify ways of combining transport sector growth with increased sustainability.