Sindh govt cancels BRT Red Line construction contract, to re-award it on emergency basis: Sharjeel Memon

The government cancelled the contract for the Mosamiyat–Numaish section of the project.

The stalled construction on the Red Line resumed in November after the removal of several bottlenecks following the chief minister’s intervention, but there is still no clear timeline in sight for the project’s completion as thousands of University Road commuters continue to face daily hardships.

He said the contractor was issued several warnings to complete the work within the stipulated time, but failed to comply.

The government, he added, tried its level best to accommodate the contractor by resolving issues related to rate escalation.

Memon added that the Asian Development Bank, which funds the project, was unhappy with the pace of work, as were stakeholders concerned about environmental impact.

He said the remaining work on the Red Line project would now be contracted out on an emergency basis.

“To ensure early completion, the remaining work will be split into smaller packages and awarded to more than one contractor,” he added.

Designed to cover around 27 kilometres from Malir Halt to Numaish via University Road, the BRT Red Line project was announced in 2017 with an initial cost of around Rs79 billion, but due to persistent delays and mismanagement by the provincial government, the estimated cost has now escalated to Rs103bn.

After commencement of the work in early 2022, the project was initially scheduled for completion by 2023, which was later pushed to 2024 and subsequently extended to the end of 2026.

For many, even the revised timeline appears to be wholly unrealistic as the project continues to progress at a snail’s pace. Various factors have been cited by officials to justify these delays, including disputes with contractors, safety stoppages, rising construction costs due to depreciation of the rupee, difficulties in land acquisition, relocation of utilities and coordination failures between implementing agencies.

In December of last year, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah directed authorities to expedite work on the line during an inspection of the project from Malir Cantonment to Numaish. He was told that delays were because of heavy rains, utility relocation issues and design changes.

In September, the Sindh High Court said that all stakeholders should be taken on board and efforts should be made to resolve disputes to ensure that work on the project be carried out continuously.