\u2013Says entire UK depends on capital London for progress, prosperity
\n KARACHI
\nUnderscoring the point that a modern transport system was a must for the city of the 21st century, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that in Karachi\u2019s development lay Pakistan\u2019s development.
\nAddressing the inaugural ceremony of the Green Line Bus service project in Karachi, he said that the entire United Kingdom (UK) depended on its capital London for its progress and prosperity, and the city had the world\u2019s most modern transport system.
\n\u201cSame is the case with several Chinese cities,\u201d he said, and added, \u201cEven Tehran, the capital of Iran, which has been hardest hit by the sanctions, has modern transport facilities. Iran collects $500 million in revenue and spends it in a systematic manner. In comparison, Karachi doesn\u2019t even collect $30m,\u201d PM Imran noted, and stressed the need for giving the Sindh capital autonomy so that the local government system could succeed.
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t just make promises, we deliver,\u201d he boasted. PM Imran said unfortunately no government in the past had ever concentrated on the improvement of the country\u2019s largest city\u2019s transport system. \u201cI am witness to Karachi\u2019s degeneration in the past 50 years. We have seen its transformation into a cave because we did not focus on its administration,\u201d he said.
\nHe said under the project, 30 buses would operate on the track, while 135, 000 passengers would be able to avail the facility daily. He informed that the completion of the project cost the government over Rs35 billion.
\nThe prime minister, on the occasion, congratulated Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Asad Umar and Sindh Infrastructure tDevelopment Company Limited (SIDCL) on remaining determined and steadfast to ensure completion of the much-awaited project.
\nEarlier, Asad Umar thanked the SIDCL and parliamentarians from Karachi for their efforts for the project. He said the Sindh governor was \u2018supervising\u2019 the project since the PTI came to power in 2018.
\nThe minister recalled that although the project had been approved in 2016, but the PML-N government which stayed in power for the next 28 months even failed to build the project\u2019s infrastructure. \u201cThe order for the buses was also not placed and neither was the payment system designed,\u201d the federal minister said, and added the operation and maintenance tender was also not placed.
\nHe added that the PML-N only thought about building a track surrounded by grills with no other facilities available. Earlier, PM Imran inaugurated the project, which will operate on a trial basis for the first 15 days before becoming fully operational on December 25.
\nHe was accompanied at the ceremony by senior officials, including Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Federal Minister Asad Umar. He also visited a bus station, where he inspected the infrastructure and also received a briefing on how the ticketing system works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2013Says entire UK depends on capital London for progress, prosperity KARACHI Underscoring the point that a modern transport system was a must for the city of the 21st century, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that in Karachi\u2019s development lay Pakistan\u2019s development. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Green Line Bus service project in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232158,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1547,1546,934],"class_list":{"0":"post-232150","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-green-line-bus","9":"tag-inaugurates","10":"tag-project"},"yoast_head":"\n