Pakistan : Peshawar Sustainable Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Project Project Design Advance

Transport / Transport policies and institutional development - Urban public transport - Urban roads and traffic management

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban flood protection

Peshawar is the capital city of the North Western Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) in Pakistan. Located 2-hour drive from the national capital of Islamabad, it sits in the Indus valley near the Afghan border. The last census was conducted in 1998 and based on current growth rates, the city's population is now estimated to be 1.6 million, projected to grow to 3 million by 2030. Rapid population growth has been impacted by Afghan refugee migration and internal displacement, resulting in 280,000 Afghan refugees and 100,000 displaced persons currently living in Peshawar, and housed in 18 informal settlements. As many of these people have limited resources and opportunities, the pressure to maintain infrastructure development and service provision in accordance with the demand for housing, transport and basic urban services is high. Car and motorcycle ownership is still low but increasing with a growing middle class. Combined with other factors such as inefficient public transport and weak traffic management to organize competing modes, the motorization exacerbates congestion and leads to increased air and noise pollution. Declining traffic conditions on key arterials have become unmanageable. With limited infrastructure, the city's UTS fails to provide mobility for all.

Poverty is widespread in Peshawar. If almost 90% of men are employed, only 10% of women are employed due to fewer opportunities for economic independence. The poorest and women travel mostly on foot or use the existing and informal public transport facilities composed mainly of large and medium-size buses, and the popular pickups, which altogether serve around 70% of the total transport demand but represent only 43% of the total traffic. Responding to the high market demand, a large number of operators are currently plying along the city's key corridors without necessary permits and in a disorganized and inefficient manner. The bus fleet is in decay; bus stops are rudimentary, without information on schedule or itinerary; the ticketing system is obsolete; operators compete for passengers, worsening congestion and impairing safety. Traffic-based collisions are increasing, mainly affecting pedestrians. Surveyed, 84% of passengers complain about crowded and unsafe conditions during the rush period, and about the humiliating and bad behavior of drivers and conductors. A well designed and accessible public transport system would therefore offer substantial benefits to the urban poor and women.

STRPI national consultants are expected to be recruited either individually through ICS, or through a local nongovernment organization. Before the start of any procurement, ADB and the government will review the public procurement laws of the central and state governments to ensure consistency with ADB's Procurement Guidelines. All consultants and nongovernment organizations will be recruited according to ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants.

An 18-month procurement plan indicating threshold and review procedures, goods and consulting service contract packages and NCB is presented in Section C of Project Administration Manual. The terms of reference for all consulting services are detailed in Section D.

An estimated 600 person-months (252 international, 348 national) of consulting services are required to (i) undertake all project preparatory work described in para. 3; (ii) facilitate PDA project management and implementation; and (iii) strengthen the institutional and operational capacity of the executing agency. Consulting firms will be engaged using the quality- and cost-based selection (QCBS) method with a standard quality: cost ratio of 90:10.