PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to procure 50 additional buses for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Peshawar, a multi-billion-rupee initiative originally launched by the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government.
This decision was made during the 42nd board meeting of Trans Peshawar, which took place recently under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary for Planning and Development, Akram Khan.
Currently, 244 buses are operating on 18 routes of the Peshawar BRT, but an additional 300 buses are needed to service 24 new routes. Sources indicate that TransPeshawar’s board of directors has recommended adhering to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (KPPRA) guidelines instead of directly purchasing the buses from the Chinese firm Golden Dragon.
During the meeting, the necessity of acquiring more buses to activate additional BRT routes was discussed. The board approved various measures to ensure a transparent procurement process for the 50 new 12-meter buses for the Peshawar BRT and emphasized the importance of following KPPRA guidelines.
Furthermore, it was decided that the final approval for this procurement would be sought from the provincial cabinet, a move that was unanimously supported by the board.
