Sindh government to launch $1.2 billion Karachi Light Rail project from October

Sindh government has decided to launch the $1,269.02 million Karachi Light Rail, Brown Line project on war footings so that it could be completed by 2018. For the purpose, a high powered committee was constituted to remove all the bottlenecks so that the proposed project could be gifted to Karachiites.
The decision was taken by Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah while presiding over a meeting of Sindh government representatives and Chinese company Sinosure at the CM House on Monday. The Sindh government was represented by Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah, ACS (Dev) Mohammad Waseem, Principal Secretary to CM Alamuddin Bullo, Secretary Finance Sohail Rajput, Secretary Transport Taha Farooqi and others while from the Chinese company Deputy Director Sinosure Cheng Tao and General Managers CRCC Pakistan Wu Zefeng and a team participated.
Giving presentation the Chinese team said that the project would start from Singer Round-about via Korangi, Shah Faisal, Rashid Minhas Road. It would have a terminal station at Anda Mor at the North side of Nagan Chowrangi overpass.
The total length of the Brown Line project is 18.38 kilometers, of which 20.63 percent or 3.7 kilometers would be under ground while 12.92 kilometers or 70.30 percent would be elevated. Its ground transitional would be 1.67 kilometers. The project would have 13 stations, of them three would be underground and 10 elevated with one rolling stock base and operational control centers.
The unidirectional peak passenger volume can reach to 20,000 to 70,0000 persons per trip. This project would generate Rs 3 billion annually and if the advertisement and stalls such as tea shop to be set up at each station would be included the it would fetch more than Rs 3.5 billion per year.
Giving financial details of the project they said that the mobilisation cost of the project would be $12.7million, Engineering design $16.94 million, insurance $ 12.69 million, HSE $21.18 million, construction works and equipment $1006.33 million, coaches $ 72.54 million, test and commissioning $8.47 million contingency $42.34 million.. Apart from it land for depot and control building will cost $4.9 million, interest during construction $75.99 million. Therefore the project would cost $1,269.02 million. They told the Chief Minister that 60 percent of the total cost would be a 13-year Chinese loan while Sindh government would have to pay 40 percent of the total cost. It means there would a $769.03 million Chinese loan and Sindh government would have to pay $500 million.
The Chinese team of Sinosure said that their 11 experts have made four trips to Karachi and each trip was of 20 days. During their visit they conducted soil investigation, site survey, traffic information study and co-ordinated with different Sindh government departments.
They told the chief minister that they have constituted a 50-member experts team, of them 20 are from design sector and 30 experts from construction sector. They would have a task to prepare project proposal, conduct feasibility study, prepare concept and pre-preliminary design of civil and electrical works, signalling and preparation of documents for Chinese loan within two months. Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah directed Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah to constitute a three-member team with ACS (Dev) Mohammad Wasim ((Chairman), Secretary Finance Sohail Rajput and Secretary Transport Taha Farooqi as its members. "I want you to personally supervise and guide the team so that all the bottlenecks, including operational, technical and legal could be removed," he said and added that he wants to start the project on October 1, 2015.
The Finance Minister said that the most important issue was to discuss and approve the terms and conditions of the Chinese loan. On this the chief minister directed the secretary finance to hold a meeting with the Chinese on Tuesday (today) and then get approval from Finance Minister and he would accord final approval once all the issues are discussed and settled.