Pakistan PM inaugurates metro bus project in Multan

Islamabad, Jan 24: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday inaugurated a metro bus service in Punjab province's Multan city, officials said.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Governor Rafique Rajwana, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and other high-ranking officials were present at the event, Dawn news reported.

The Premier later took a ceremonial ride on one of the buses to formally begin the service, which will initially operate 35 buses.

Deputy Commissioner Nadir Chattha told Dawn that the project had been completed at a cost of over 28 billion Pakistani rupees ($267 million).

It included 21 bus stations spread over an 18.5 km route, which are expected to facilitate 97,000 commuters daily, he said.

The project's technical adviser, Sabir Khan Sadozai, claimed that as many as 2,600 jobs would be created over time due to the project.

He informed that the project had been divided into nine phases, and that 356 million Pakistani rupees had been paid to various departments for the shifting of various services along the route.