‘University Road project glaring failure of governance’

KARACHI: The endless delays in completing work on University Road have exposed yet another glaring failure of governance in Karachi, where citizens are repeatedly made to pay the price for poor planning, administrative failures and the absence of accountability, said Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Altaf Shakoor here on Sunday. University Road is one of Karachi’s most important arteries, carrying hundreds of thousands of commuters every day, he said. Yet a project intended to improve public transport has instead subjected residents, students, businesses and motorists to years of disruption, congestion, dust, potholes and diversions. He said the financial cost of the delay is equally troubling. The Red Line BRT project was originally estimated at approximately Rs79 billion, but its estimated cost subsequently rose to around Rs103 billion – an increase of roughly Rs24 billion. The project began in 2022 and was initially expected to be completed within a few years, he said. Its completion deadline has since moved repeatedly, with the latest reported target now extending to June 2027. “This means that a project launched in 2022 to provide a modern mass-transit solution has effectively turned into a five-year or potentially longer ordeal for the people who depend on University Road. ” He said the authorities have repeatedly announced shorter deadlines for restoring the road. In June 2026, the Sindh government said University Road would be reopened by the end of July, while in August the provincial transport minister announced that the entire road would be made “100 percent motorable” by September 15. He said the question is no longer simply when the project will be completed. The question is how much more Karachi’s citizens will have to pay – in money, time and lost productivity – before it is finally delivered. The continuing delays also raise serious questions about project planning and coordination. Officials and project authorities have cited issues including utility relocation, land acquisition, contractor disputes, rising construction costs and coordination problems among implementing agencies, he observed. Whatever the individual reasons, the responsibility for ensuring that these obstacles are anticipated and managed ultimately rests with those entrusted with delivering the project, he said. This is not merely an engineering problem. It is a governance and accountability problem, said Shakoor, adding citizens have a right to know why a project costing tens of billions of rupees has suffered repeated delays? Why its estimated cost has increased so substantially, and who will be held responsible if further deadlines are missed? The economic consequences are being borne by ordinary citizens and businesses. Every additional hour spent in traffic means lost working time, greater fuel consumption and reduced productivity, he said. Businesses along the affected corridor have also faced prolonged disruption and reduced accessibility, he said. Recent reporting has described University Road as a five-year ordeal for commuters, with journeys that normally take minutes stretching into hours in badly affected sections, he said. The PDP chairman said Karachi urgently needs a culture of delivery rather than announcements. Development cannot be measured by the number of projects inaugurated, press conferences held or deadlines announced. It must be measured by whether projects are completed on time, within a reasonable budget and with minimum disruption to citizens, he said. The government should immediately publish a comprehensive progress report covering the project’s original and revised costs, expenditure to date, contractual obligations, reasons for delays and the latest completion schedule, he demanded. Every future deadline should be accompanied by measurable milestones so that citizens can determine whether the authorities are actually delivering on their commitments, he said. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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