Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said on Sunday that the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) had resumed the construction of a section of the long-delayed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line project on Karachi’s University Road.
The announcement came four days after the Sindh government cancelled the construction contract for the BRT Red Line, saying that it would be re-awarded on an “emergency basis”.
Sindh Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon had told that the contract had been terminated due to delays in the project’s execution by the contractor. He had said the Asian Development Bank, which funds the project, was unhappy with the pace of work, as were stakeholders concerned about environmental impact.
Subsequently, Wahab posted on X: “Happy to inform that work on the University Road has resumed by FWO. The Sindh chief minister has given a deadline to have the work on the mixed traffic corridor and drain completed within 90 days. God willing, will keep you all posted with the progress.”
In another post, he said Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had visited the construction site to “personally monitor the resumption of work by FWO”.
Separately, a statement issued by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) said the CM, accompanied by Wahab and other officials, visited the sites of various development projects in Karachi on Sunday.
Among those projects, the statement said, CM Murad reviewed the BRT Red Line and was given a briefing on it by FWO officials, Sindh Transport Secretary Asad Zamin and TransKarachi Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Zubair Channa.
The statement said the CM directed that the project’s construction should be completed expeditiously and the traffic corridor should be improved.
The stalled construction on the Red Line had resumed in November 2025, after the removal of several bottlenecks following the chief minister’s intervention.
Meanwhile, thousands of University Road commuters continue to face daily hardships.
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 SHC said that all stakeholders should be taken on board and efforts should be made to resolve disputes to ensure that work on the project is carried out continuously.