CM vows to make Karachi one of the best cities of the world

The Sindh government has been giving a top priority to Karachi in terms of development schemes as 365 projects worth Rs 218.6 billion were launched in the city in recent years.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said this on Wednesday while presiding over a high-profile meeting at CM House to review progress in the ongoing development schemes. An allocation of Rs53 billion has been made in the 2018-19 provincial Annual Development Programme (ADP) for development schemes of Karachi, Shah said. He added that of 365 development projects that were launched in the city in recent years, 16 were completed in the fiscal year 2016-17 while 17 other projects were near completion.

The 16 completed projects had incurred a total cost of around Rs6.64 trillion. They included renovation and construction of Pipri Filtration Plant, Drigh Colony Flyover, Manzil Pump Flyover, Link Road to Khairpur Town, University Road, Tariq Road, Mausamyat Road, Hub River Road, Surjani to Madinatul Hikmat Road, Sharea Faisal, Baloch Colony Flyover, storm drain from Jinnah Terminal to Chakora Nala to Natha Khan Bridge, bridge on the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gizri Boulevard, and storm drain from Hassan Square to Lyari River.

Sindh Planning and Development Board Chairman Mohammad Waseem informed the meeting that 40 development schemes at an estimated cost of Rs128.44 billion had been launched in Karachi through the 2018-19 ADP with an amount of Rs34.48 billion allocated for them for the current year.

The 40 schemes include conversion of existing schools into model schools, construction of an education complex and college buildings, establishment of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (SZAB) Law University, Bilawal Bhutto Engineering College Lyari, SZAB Engineering College Memon Goth, Sindh Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics at Nipa, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto (SBB) Medical Complex near Razzakabad, Extension of Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, paediatric unit at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, SBB Medical College Lyari, forensic lab, 34 courts in Korangi, rehabilitation of Karachi Fish Harbour, 100 MGD pump house, upgrade of the Dhabeji pumping station, 65 MGD water supply project from Haleji to Pipri, revamping of Gujjar Nullah, rehabilitation of filtration plants at Gharo, COD and Pipri, improvement of main Hawkes Bay road, revival of surroundings of Empress Market, establishment of six garbage transfer stations, development of two landfill sites, S-III project, establishment of five combined effluent treatment plants and others.

The CM said his government had approached the World Bank to conduct a study for the city which led to the formulation of Karachi Transformation Strategy. The study suggested a pathway to improve the city’s livability and competitiveness, he added.

According to Shah, public spaces, roads infrastructure and administrative services in Karachi would be improved at a cost of $98 million under the Karachi Neighbourhood Improvement Project; whereas, under the Karachi Urban Management Project, a grant of $200 million would be provided to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and District Municipal Corporations for the development of a system to manage urban property tax.

Various projects in the city were at the implementation stage, while some were at a conceptual stage, the CM said. He added that the Karachi Water & Sewerage Modernisation project worth $1.6 billion would be launched in a time frame of 10 years. The World Bank was ready to support the project, Shah said.

The CM maintained that funds were being arranged for several transport projects for the city, including the Karachi Circular Railway, six Bus Rapid Transit lines and Southern Bypass that would connect southern areas of Karachi to the Super Highway at Kathore, making it easy to travel from District South to the northern expansion of the city.

Shah directed Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani to start work on the Hyder Ali Road and Tariq Road underpasses. He also directed initiation of work on the Lea Market flyover by the end of December. “We will make Karachi one of the best and beautiful cities of the world very soon,” the CM concluded.

The meeting was also attended by Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, Finance Secretary Najam Shah, Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani, Local Government Secretary Khalid Hyder Shah and others.