From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: Zhongtong, one of the earliest listed bus manufacturers in China has secured an order to provide 100 units 18-meter new energy buses for Green Line and Orange Line Bust Rapid Transport (BRT) in Karachi.
As the first batch of new energy powered city buses in the city, they will serve on the Green-color and Orange-color BRT routes after their arrival, providing greener, more intelligent and more comfortable transportation services for local residents, according to a local media website here on Wednesday.
As the largest city in Pakistan, Karachi is also the economic hub in the country. With its strategic location and fast growing economy, the port city has been confronted with increasingly severe traffic congestions.
Tweeting in Urdu from his official account recently, Federal Minister of Planning and Development Asad Umar informed about the completion of a prototype bus for Karachi’s Green Line Metrobus project.
It is currently being tested by the Chinese authorities for any mechanical and safety issues. Once the phase of the inspection is completed, a total of 80 buses will be shipped to Karachi and added to Green Line’s fleet. The mass transit project is expected to become operational in this year.
Green Line Bus Rapid Transit is a federal government project.
It is the largest of all the other proposed metro bus routes in Karachi.
It is expected that after completion, it will facilitate over 300,000 passengers on a daily basis. Construction on the project started in January 2016 by the Karachi Infrastructural development Company (KIDC) and, nearly three years later, it is still underway.
