Launched in 2016, the project faced repeated delays due to administrative hurdles.
MA Jinnah Road lies open in front of the historic old Radio Pakistan building, its dust and trenches marking the slow, beating pulse of a city remaking itself. Photo: Express
KARACHI:
Work on Phase II of Karachi’s Green Line bus project will begin this week, after remaining stalled for six years, officials confirmed on Sunday.
Sindh Barrister federal government spokesperson Raja Ansari told The Express PAkGazette that the project will be completed in a year, in December 2026, expanding the modern bus service from Surjani town to Jamia fabric market. Once it is operational, travelers will be able to travel this stretch in a matter of minutes, avoiding congestion that lasts for hours on the main arteries.
Ansari, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, MQM-P leader Aminul Haque and senior officials of Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (PIDCL) are expected to formally announce the resumption of work at a joint press conference on Monday.
According to Ansari, the construction was stopped due to reservations raised by the Mayor of Karachi regarding the issuance of No Objection Certificate (NOC) for Phase II. “I, along with PIDCL officials, met the mayor and resolved the matter amicably. The project is now back on track,” he said.
Phase II covers a dedicated 1.8 kilometer corridor from Numaish Chowrangi to Municipal Park near Jamia Fabric Market. The expansion includes construction of three additional bus stations and has an estimated cost of Rs 5,000 crore. The work will be executed by PIDCL, a subsidiary of the federal government.
Currently, 80 buses operate in Phase I of the Green Line project and serve around 80,000 passengers daily. Once Phase II is completed, 70 additional buses will be added, increasing the system’s daily ridership to over 110,000 commuters traveling between Surjani Town and Jamia Cloth.
Ansari noted that although the Green Line project was originally launched in 2016, Phase II faced repeated delays due to administrative hurdles. He credited the coordinated efforts of the federal and Sindh governments, along with Mayor Wahab, for removing obstacles and paving the way for construction to resume.
A formal announcement regarding the resumption of the project will be made during Monday’s press conference, he added.
