Karachi: Prime Minister Imran Khan has inaugurated the Karachi Green Line bus rapid transit (BRT) project.
The project will connect 22 stations between Surjani Town in the northern part of the city and Numaish Chowarngi in Saddar.
The prime minister arrived in Karachi this morning and inaugurated the project at around 330pm. He is expected to take an aerial view of the BRT track and stations.
Security has been beefed up in the city with thousands of police and Rangers personnel deployed on major roads, especially on the Sharae Faisal.
After the inauguration the Green Line service will begin its trial operations that will last until December 25, when the service will be opened to public.
However, people who commute along the proposed Green Line route on daily basis have expressed pleasure at the possibility that they will be able to leave their cars and motorbikes at home and travel hassle free via the Green Line BRT service.
The PM inaugurated the project at the Numaish Chowrangi, where a large number of PTI leaders and workers gathered.
The ceremony was held in the Numaish underpass, constructed as a part of BRT project.
The PM unveiled the plaque for the inauguration of the project that has been completed a the cost of Rs35.5 billion in about five year after its groundbreaking in 2016.
“Although the prime minister is to visit this place, we note that traffic has not been suspended in the area,” he said just before the inauguration.
The underpass is the most splendid and the largest in the city spread over a kilometer.
The Greenline is one of the five big projects announced by federal government for the city under Karachi Transformation Plan.
The operation of BRT buses on trial basis will start from December 11 to 24, however, the commercial operations will start from December 25 and from January 10 onward the full scale operation would be started.
As many as 40 BRT buses will be arriving from China in March to facilitate mega city at earliest.
