NRTC to operate 200 buses in Karachi, Larkana

KARACHI: The Government of Sindh has awarded a contract to National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) for Sindh Intra District Peoples Bus Service Project to operate and maintain up to 200 buses plying at routes in Karachi and Larkana.

Sindh Minister for Transport and Mass Transit Syed Awais Qadir Shah said that the project will create more than 2,000 jobs besides generating service tax. In the first phase, 50 buses will ply on the streets of Karachi and in the second phase, 200 more buses will run from Karachi to Larkana. A signing ceremony was held on Wednesday for the operations and maintenance of buses and the bus depots of the Sindh Intra District Peoples Bus Service Project. Speaking to the media, Sindh Minister for Transport and Mass Transit Awais Shah said that the provincial government had formed a consortium with Chinese company for buses and Turkish company for technical facilities. By the end of January in first phase, 50 buses will arrive and in the second phase 200 buses will ply in different districts of the province. “Soon the people of Karachi will have access to the best transport facility,” Shah added.

A bus depot will be constructed at UP Mor in the District Central, followed by five more bus depots. The first route in Karachi will run for 29.5 km, from Model Colony to Tower, while the second route will operate from North Karachi to Indus Hospital. The third route will operate from Nagan Chowrangi to Korangi Singer Chowrangi, while the fourth route will extend from Mosamyat (Met office) towards Dockyard. The fifth route will be from Surjani to Masroor Base and the sixth route will extend from Orangi Town’s Gulshan-e-Bahar to Singer Chowrangi in Korangi. Similarly, in Larkana the buses will run from Bus Terminal to Larkana Junction.

The minister said the project will create 1500 to 2000 jobs. He said the NRTC would offer best transport system. He said that they had faced a lot of challenges, especially during Covid-19 which also delayed the project.