PM Imran Khan inaugurates Peshawar BRT project

PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday inaugurated the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) flagship project, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

He got a briefing on the functioning of the project after the inauguration. He was accompanied by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak and other government officials on the occasion.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, the prime minister said he had reservations about the project at first, but he was wrong and the then KP CM, Pervaiz Khattak, turned to be right. He congratulated him over the inauguration of the third generation transport facility in the provincial capital.

PM Khan said projects like the BRT will help improve the living standard of the common man. “InshAllah, the project will turn out to be a blessing for commoners,” he added.

He said the BRT hybrid buses will reduce pollution besides solving the traffic issues in the city.

The prime minister also inspected the buses, ticketing system and expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made for commuters.

The bus project has been built at a cost of around Rs70 billion. About 340,000 common people will enjoy safe, comfortable, and affordable travel in luxury buses on a daily basis.

The BRT is a 27.5 kilometer-long main corridor track with 31 stations, besides seven feeder routes of a total of 62 kilometers with 146 stops to facilitate hundreds of thousands of passengers every day.

Work on the bus project was launched in Oct 2017 by the then chief minister, Pervez Khattak, who set six months deadline for its completion at a cost of Rs49 billion. However, the project suffered delays due to the frequent design changes and other issues, pushing up the project cost.