NAB seeks answers as BRT completion drags on for six years

PESHAWAR: The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project is synonymous with many hits and misses – more misses than hits. But the one fact that is not oft discussed, is that six years after its inception and many deadlines later, the project still remains incomplete due to ‘short-sightedness, poor planning and institutional incompetence’, as sources in the caretaker government put it.

Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is now preparing references against key figures of the PTI government, and officers from the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA), Transport Department, Planning and Development department (P&D) , Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Urban Mobility Authority (KPUMA), and Trans Peshawar Company.

As per Asian Development Bank (ADB) documents, it had approved a $335 million loan to be released to the KP government for the project, with the French Agency for Development (AFD) committing an additional $150 million for the project.

Originally estimated to cost Rs49.346 billion, the price tag was later revised in 2017 to Rs66.437 billion with an initial completion target of June 2018. This deadline was later pushed to March 2019 in the revised plan. Shockingly despite a revised deadline, six years on the construction is still ongoing.

The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) last year highlighted unfinished walkways, cycle tracks, and depots, noting around Rs1.4 billion worth of incomplete construction and Rs60 million in overpayments.

PDA Peshawar officials attribute the delays to issues on behalf of the cantonment board among other reasons, assuring that many of the audit’s findings have been addressed. With NAB’s inquiry into the project nearing completion, the PDA refrained from further comments.

Meanwhile officials at Trans Peshawar Company, the company that is responsible for the operations of BRT, did confirm that certain BRT depots remain incomplete.

A notable challenge for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is the significant depreciation of the rupee. In 2017, the dollar was valued at 110 rupees, now it stands at 300 rupees.

This change implies a future repayment to ADB and AFD of 145 billion rupees, more than twice of the initially projected 60 billion rupees.

NAB has recorded statements from numerous officers, including the former Chief Minister and Transport Minister of KP.

In November 2019, a Peshawar High Court bench headed by late Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth had ordered Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate the project’s alleged irregularities and submit a report at the PHC within 45 days. The inquiry was halted mid-way after the Supreme Court granted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) provincial government a stay order against their appeal.

But with the party’s rule coming to an end, the caretaker cabinet in June decided to see the BRT inquiry by withdrawing the province’s petition from the SC and eventually requesting NAB KP for a speedy inquiry.