Inferior quality material used in Peshawar BRT project: ADB

Pakistan's provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) has used inferior quality material in the PKR 70 billion Peshawar metro bus project and made "critical" deviations from the planned design that may put lives at risk, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said.

The above findings were recorded by a technical team of the ADB during an on-site inspection of the BRT in March, this year. The ABD has told the provincial government that it will not disburse any further amount under the loan for the project until the latter makes changes in the design to address "critical" changes, reported The Express Tribune.

The ADB had approved a USD 335 million loan for the project in 2017. While the project was initially approved to be constructed at a cost of PKR 50 billion, the centre later approved a 38 per cent increase in the construction cost.

During its inspection, the ABD identified as many as 22 "critical" deviations from the project design at the implementation stage. These deviated not only compromises on the quality of the project but could also cause injuries to passengers.

One such deviation is the use of "taped arrows" instead of directional tiles as was required.

"It is disappointing that the directional arrows are entirely missing from the implementation. As a remedy, it will not be acceptable to merely place taped arrows on the surface," said the ADB

The width of the lane, against the requirement of an at least 6.5 meters, is below the minimum threshold at stations number 10, 12, 15 and 26. This reduced width could result in possible collisions at these stations.

"There is a significant concern of corridor lane widths at turns near BS10, BS12, BS15 and BS26. Over the course of operations, the current design may well result in collisions between BRT vehicles," the ADB added.