ADB, AIIB, AFD help finance 26km Karachi bus rapid transit project
The Asian Development Bank and the Government of Pakistan have signed a $235 million loan deal to help develop a 26.6km bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Karachi.
ADB will also administer a $71.8 million loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; a $71.8 million loan from Agence Francaise de Developpement; and a $37.2 million loan and a $11.8 million grant from the Green Climate Fund. The GCF will finance climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, such as the incremental cost of the transition to compressed natural gas hybrid bus technology, and the construction of a biogas plant to produce CNG from cattle waste.
The project, which is expected to save 240,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, is the first transport-related initiative approved by GCF.
The project, developed and designed in partnership with the Transport and Mass Transit Department of the Sindh government, is currently going through procurement of civil works and services to fast-track implementation. The project will restructure the entire width of the Red Line BRT corridor, including the construction of 29 stations and dedicated lanes along the 26.6km stretch; improvement of the mixed-traffic roadway with up to six lanes in each direction; inclusion of organized parking facilities and landscaped green areas in various locations; improvement of the drainage system to climate-proof the corridor; and installation of bicycle lanes, improved sidewalks, and energy-efficient street lights.
