Agreement signed for intra-city and intercity bus projects in Sindh
Pakistan
KARACHI: The long-awaited financing agreement between the transport and mass transit department and the Sindh Modaraba was signed here on Wednesday at a ceremony held at CM House to launch intra-city and intercity bus projects.
The agreement was signed by transport secretary Saeed Awan and Sindh Modaraba chief executive officer Naeem Farooqui under the supervision of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said the traffic problem in Karachi was becoming too serious day by day.
The existing public transport facilities were not enough to keep up with the pace of rising population and in this situation the intra-city bus projects were need of the hour, he added. He said he had been given a briefing by Transport Minister Syed Nasir Shah.
“I am quite satisfied that he has adopted a workable approach to solve the transport problem in the city,” he said.
Transport Minister Syed Nasir Shah said that intra-city bus scheme was aimed at strengthening transport facilities for the people of Karachi and it would support the mass transit systems like the bus rapid transport system and the Karachi Circular Railway.
“The Sindh Modaraba Limited shall charge a mark-up rate of Kibor plus 3.50 per cent, while the transporters shall bear the burden of flat five per cent mark-up. The difference shall be borne by the provincial government.”
He added that the loan tenure would be a maximum of five years and transporters would pay 15pc of the upfront cost of a vehicle while another 15pc would be borne by the Sindh government as interest-free loan repayable by the transporter within a year of the completion of the loan due to the Sindh Modaraba Ltd.
Foreign Service Academy delegation
Later addressing a 23-member delegation of the Foreign Service Academy led by its DG Iftikhar Aziz at CM House, the chief minister said that he was making efforts to make Sindh a peaceful, prosperous and developed province.
He spoke on different topics such as law and order, finance and development and replied to the questions of the participants.
Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2017
