TransPeshawar paid Rs. 424 million of the contractors’ Rs. 1 billion worth of dues earlier today to avoid the suspension of the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) operation.

On Monday, Daewoo Pakistan, which operates 244 of Peshawar BRT’s buses, notified the provincial government that it would halt the service on June 7 (today) if TransPeshawar didn’t pay Rs. 754 million for the last four months.

On Tuesday, TransPeshawar’s board of directors approved the payment of dues. An official told the media that Daewoo Pakistan received Rs. 344 million and other companies Rs. 80 million in dues.

He added that the rest of the dues will be cleared by June 20 after the release of another tranche of Rs. 400 million. After the provincial government releases funds, the BRT operator will clear May’s payments.

Citing official documents, a media report states that TransPeshawar owes Rs. 1 billion to five BRT contractors since February. Daewoo Pakistan and other companies have repeatedly petitioned the provincial government to clear their dues.

On Friday, international lenders Asian Development Bank and French Development Agency, which finance Peshawar BRT, urged the government to pay contractors immediately, warning that failure to do so would harm their partnership for the province’s development.

Source: Pro Pakistani