Lack of proper master planto blame for Karachi’s civic woes: Sindh governor

The civic issues facing Karachi are a result of the city’s phenomenal expansion over the years without any proper master plan in place to manage the growth, said Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair.

Speaking at the annual function of the English Speaking Union of Pakistan on Saturday night, Zubair said the federal government has been working on a preferential basis to improve the status of the country’s financial capital and had initiated projects worth Rs75 billion for the cause.

According to the governor, Karachi was all set to regain its past days of glory because of the normalisation of the law and order situation under the current federal government as business, cultural, social, industrial, commercial and sporting activities have been continuing till late night now.

He said industrial estates in the city were being provided uninterrupted power supply so that production can be maximised for the benefit of the national economy. “Karachi would once again be called by its former title, the ‘City of Lights’,” said Zubair.

Speaking about development projects in the metropolis, the governor said work on the K-IV Greater Karachi Water Supply Scheme was in full swing, while work on the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit System was also ongoing to provide the citizens of Karachi a modern mass transit facility at par with other cities of the world.

He added that the leftover portion of the north-bound section of the Lyari Expressway had recently been completed and opened for traffic after a delay of several years, while efforts to restore the city’s civic infrastructure and provide socio-economic uplift services were also underway with the Rs25 billion special development package announced by the prime minister for Karachi.

Apart from the development package, the federal government has already been spending Rs50 billion to build mega development projects to provide modern civic infrastructure and facilities for residents of Karachi, he claimed.

He urged all relevant stakeholders to work collectively so that Karachi could secure an important position on the world economic map. “Owing to efforts of the present government, peace, power supply, and economic situation of the country had been stabilised very well,” the governor said.

He further claimed that the international community had acknowledged improvement in Pakistan’s economy as the country has emerged as a preferred choice for prospective international investors.

Commenting on the recently-announced World Happiness Index Survey 2018, released by the United Nations, which ranks Pakistanis as the happiest nation among its regional neighbours, Zubair attributed the achievement to the “timely and concrete actions taken by the federal government for the cause of national development and prosperity”.

FOREIGN VISITORS

Meanwhile, speaking to a delegation of foreign diplomats who called on him on Sunday, Zubair said that when the present central government came to power in 2013, the security situation in the country was so bad that foreigners were unwilling to come for even a day-long visit.

He added that the situation had improved enough now that a number of foreign visitors frequently come to Karachi to attend a number of conferences and exhibitions on trade, economic and culture.

The outside world has showed confidence in the abilities of the present government to stabilise peace and economic situation in the country, he added. The visiting foreign diplomats are attending a course at the Foreign Service Academy in Islamabad and visited Zubair at the Sindh Governor House.

Zubair claimed that that present government had laid a solid foundation for a stable economy and the future government, which will be formed after upcoming general elections, was all set to inherit the accelerated pace of industrialisation and foreign investment.

He added that Pakistan had always played its role as a frontline state in the war against terrorism in order to ensure peace in the world. Speaking about the much-hyped China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Sindh governor said it would prove to be a game-changer for the entire region as it would ensure economic and business progress while problems like mass poverty and unemployment would also be resolved in Pakistan with its completion.