PM Shehbaz Sharif announces 150 buses for Karachi

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced 150 buses for Karachi during his inaugural visit to the city on Wednesday.

The premier revealed the decision to allocate 150 buses following a request from Sindh Minister for Transport, Sharjeel Inam Memon, during a high-level meeting.

Sindh Transport Minister Memon had requested the prime minister to provide 300 buses for Karachi.

However, the PM said that the federal government would provide 150 buses to the Sindh transport department to add them to their existing fleet.

PM Shahbaz also commended the efforts of the Sindh government in enhancing transportation services for the public during his visit to the Sindh government’s transport system.

PM for removing KCR bottlenecks

About the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project, the CM told the prime minister that on the advice of the federal government, a revised feasibility was undertaken in 2023 and shared with the Economic Affairs Division & Ministry of Transport, Peoples Republic of China on May 4, 2023.

He requested the prime minister to order the ministry concerned to facilitate the framework agreement for the execution of the KCR under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He also requested the prime minister to direct the railways ministry to grant the “Right of Way” (RoW) of the KCR to the Sindh government.

At this, the prime minister directed the planning minister to take up the KCR project and remove all the impediments in its way so that it could be executed.

The high-level meeting was convened at the Chief Minister’s House, presided over by PM Shahbaz. Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Owais Leghari, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Musadik Malik, Jam Kamal, and Ataullah Tarar accompanied the prime minister, while Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, along with provincial ministers and officials, represented the host province.