ISLAMABAD – The French Agency for Development (AFD) has provided soft loan for the 26.6-km long environment friendly public transport project in Karachi.
Pakistan’s Secretary of Economic Affairs Division Noor Ahmed, Ambassador of France Marc Barety and AFD’s country director Philippe Steinmetz inked the credit financing agreement worth 65 million euros on March 15 for the transport system called ‘Karachi Breeze’, the French embassy said in a statement.
1/2 On March 15th, Mr. Noor Ahmed, Secretary of Economic Affairs Division & 🇫🇷 Embassy with 🇫🇷Development Agency @AFD_France, signed a Credit Financing Agreement worth 65 million € to co-finance BRT RedLine in Karachi with @PakistanADB,@theGCF & @AIIB_Official @ForeignOfficePk pic.twitter.com/lF0t4jKruL
— France in Pakistan 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@FranceinPak) March 17, 2021
France will co-finance the Karachi Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system with Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment bank (AIIB) and Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The transport project “will be one of the very first collaborative operations for AIIB and GCF in Pakistan on urban development” it said.
The projects, which carries integrate innovative energy and climate resilience features, will be a step towards providing quality public transport to people in the city known as economic backbone of Pakistan.
Earlier, the project agreement was inked between AFD, Sindh province transport department, Sindh mass transit authority and TransKarachi.
The TransKarachi is responsible for operations of the buses, which will directly benefit 1.5 million people.
As the government is focusing on mitigating climate change issues, 200 biomethane-powered buses will be inducted to control carbon dioxide emissions from the public transport system.
Under the project, support will also be provided for the transition of the existing bus sector with the integration of informal operators into the new system, which is vital prerequisite for proper and full commissioning.
Through AFD, France is extending technical and financial support to Pakistan in the energy and urban development sectors as it has committed 850 million euros in financial support since 2016.
The project aims to improve the commuting experience and overall quality of life in the city with nearly 20 million population, a move that will held the port city to improve ranking on Global Livability Index.
