(Karachi) The Supreme Court has ordered that the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project should be completed in the next nine months, local media reported Thursday.

The top court's Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed heard the KCR revival case at the Karachi registry.

Commissioner Karachi Naved Ali Shaikh informed the judges that the KCR track has been cleared of all encroachments.

The KCR project director said the 14-kilometer long Orangi-City station track, which is dotted with nine stations, is operational. The complete KCR track is 43 kilometers long, the secretary railway said, adding the City-Drigh road track is also operational.

However, the Green Line BRT project has become a hurdle near Nazimabad, he pointed out. A flyover or an underpass needs to built there, he added.

The secretary railway said the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) has been given a contract for its construction. However, a lawyer for FWO rejected the secretary’s claim, saying it has not been given any such contract.

The provincial transport secretary that work order in this regard had been issued following the cabinet’s approval, adding the organization demanded Rs25 million for pre-feasibility advice, which had also been released.

“FWO has been assigned the task to milk money,” CJP Gulzar remarked. “This is a public interest matter and you [FWO] have been demanding money.”

The transport secretary said eleven underpasses and one flyover are to be built along the track.