An international consortium led by SNC Lavalin International of Canada has signed an implementation agreement with the Pakistani government and the National Mass Transit Authority for the construction of an 18-kilometre elevated light rail mass transit system in Karachi. The project will be executed on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, with a 30-year operation period.

SNC Lavalin International is the leader of the consortium, known as the Indus Mass Transit Company and holds a majority of the shares. Other partners include Adcon Engineering, part of the local Adamjee Group, and Turkey's Sezai Turkes-Feyzi Akkaya (ST-FA).

The agreement follows a letter of intent signed in October, which gave the consortium exclusive rights to negotiate with the government and the National Mass Transit Authority. The signed agreement now means that the consortium can embark upon the engineering work and the arranging of finance. Finance will include a substantial loan from the government of Pakistan, in addition to export credits and equity. The mix has not yet been decided. SNC Lavalin International expects financial details to be finalised within one year (MEED 3:11:95).