In a landmark decision, The Punjab government has unveiled a plan to give a new look to the GTS bus terminal located in the heart of the Faisalabad city. The most significant factor of the mega project is that it will be a replica of Dubai international terminal known for its prestigious look and architecture. The work on the project will kick off in July next and will take more than one year to complete at a total cost of Rs 850 million.
The 32-kanal government land lying between the railway station and GTS Chowk has already been acquired for the mega project. However, another 17-kanal land retrieved from the residents of a kachi abadi has also been earmarked for the project. The three-storey terminal will feature basement, ground floor and first floor. There will be waiting rooms, a lounge, a tuck shop and ticket counters in the basement while the first floor will be the main terminal where a state-of-the-art inter-city bus service will be available for all major cities.
The first floor is divided between rest rooms for drivers and conductors. The feasibility report says that to control the heavy volume of traffic in the surrounding areas of GTS Chowk, the new bus terminal will provide entry and exit points to Rajbah Sarwala Road. As a part of the multi-phased project, another flyover between the terminal and Jhall Bridge will be constructed and the buses leaving the city will take that route for going out of the city.
Meanwhile, the city government has decided to shift all the private inter-city bus stands from the city to control the traffic and solve the parking problem. District Coordination Officer (DCO) Nasim Sadiq told Pakistan Today that the city terminal at GTS Chowk would be transformed into a world-class service bus terminal. He declared the project that required two years for completion had been included in the big city development package of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
“This will be a model terminal equipped with the most modern facilities,” he said and added the terminal was presently working as a B-grade facility to accommodate passengers. In a relevant development, Commissioner Syed Tahir Hussain said Faisalabad Urban Transport Service (FUTS) was being transformed into a true service provider in accordance with the public demand. He was speaking at a meeting called to discuss administrative and financial issues for revamping the city transport.
The meeting was attended by all the stakeholders, including representatives from FUTS, Rergional Transport Authority (RTA), the city district government, tehsil municipal administrations (TMAs) and Faisalabad Development Authority (FDA). The commissioner urged the officials to construct waiting areas for passengers, parking lots and other facilities for the efficient running of the FUTS.
Modern bus terminal on the cards in Faisalabad
