(MENAFN- Tribal News Network) PESHAWAR: As the cost of the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project skyrockets, the KP government gets another Rs19.5 billion loan for the project. This time, the government of France is providing the loan of 130 million euro which is equivalent to Rs19.5 billion Pakistani.
The French government will be providing the loan through its agency, the French Agency for Development (AFD). The government of Pakistan and France inked the agreement for the provision of the 130 million euro loan on Tuesday in Islamabad.
According to a press release issued by the Embassy of France, the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) and French Embassy and the AFD inked the credit facility agreement. The secretary EAD Noor Ahmed, French Ambassador in Pakistan Marc Barety and Country Director AFD Jacky Amprou inked the agreement of providing 130 million euro for the sustainable bus rapid transit project.
The Peshawar BRT is the flagship and much-trumpeted project of the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The previous government of PTI led by Pervez Khattak launched the project on October 20, 2017, with the claim that the project would be completed in 6 months.
The project, however, is still under construction and the cost has been escalated from the initial Rs49 billion to over Rs68 billion due to frequent changes in its design after the execution. Due to the frequent changes in the design of the project, the BRT has been criticized widely and even the contractor and consultant working on the project have complained about the changes in the design calling it a major hurdle in the delay and also in the escalation of the cost. As per the revised PC-1 of the project, the estimated cost is over Rs68 billion for which the government was in negotiations with AFD to secure a loan for its financing.
The Peshawar sustainable bus rapid transit is considered to be the latest of its kind with diesel operated hybrid buses. The main corridor starts from the Chamkani and passing through the GT Road, Jail Road, Saddar and University Road ends at the Shaukat Khanam Hospital of Hayatabad. The project also has feeding routes on which special buses will be operated to transport commuters from various parts of the city to the stations of the main corridor.
MENAFN2201201901890000ID1098008463
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.