KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday chaired a meeting to review the progress of foreign aided projects (FAPs) and directed the provincial local government, works and energy departments to expedite work on these projects. instructed to do.
He also directed the concerned secretaries to submit regular progress reports.
Shah directed ministers and secretaries to personally monitor FAPs and ensure accountability, officials said.
The meeting was held at the Chief Minister’s House in which Provincial Ministers, Chief Secretary Asif Haider Shah, Chief Minister’s Personal Secretary Agha Wasif, Chairman Planning and Development Board Najam Shah, Secretary Energy Mossadeq Khan, Secretary Local Government Khalid Haider Shah, Secretary Finance Fayyaz Ali participated. . Jatoi, Works Secretary Muhammad Ali Khoso and Agriculture Secretary Sohail Qureshi.
The meeting was informed that the Competitive and Livable City of Karachi (CLICK) project is a flagship initiative at a cost of Rs 62.316 billion, for which Rs 24.294 billion have already been released, and Rs 14.3 billion have been utilised. .
The Chief Minister directed Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani to personally monitor the progress of the project. He said that henceforth the secretaries of the respective departments would present the updates instead of the project directors (PDs).
Key components of the CLICK project include disbursement of Rs 154.24 million in performance-based grants to local councils, of which Rs 53.77 million have been disbursed. Additionally, the cost of capacity building and technical components was Rs 19.98 billion of which Rs 9.97 million have been utilised.
It was reported that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) had seven schemes worth $13 million for the financial year 2023-24 which are currently in advance procurement.
Additionally, the KMC had proposed six schemes with an allocation of $13 million for the financial year 2024-25. The screening of these schemes had been completed, and they were now awaiting inter-agency approval for No Objection Certificates (NOCs).
The Town Municipal Corporations (TMC) had 18 ongoing schemes worth a total of $8.5 million for the financial year 2022-23, which began operations in August 2024.
The Chief Minister was informed that the house-to-house property tax survey is in its advanced stages though its release has been delayed due to legal hurdles. Shah directed immediate solutions to unlock Karachi’s tax potential.
It was also reported that Karachi’s solid waste management is undergoing a transformation with contracts for Garbage Transfer Stations (GTS) at Sharif Goth, Dinga Mor, Imtiaz and Gutter Baghecha, as well as the landfill site at Jam Chakru being awarded to Chinese firms. has gone The movement of machinery was currently underway, marking significant progress in the city’s waste management infrastructure.
The meeting was informed that the Sindh Solar Energy Project with the support of the World Bank aims to bring renewable energy solutions to the province through a Rs 27.4 billion solar park initiative. Sindh Energy Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah confirmed that the procurement process for the project has started.
The Water and Agriculture Transformation (SWAT) project launched at a cost of Rs 70.4 billion to improve agriculture in Sindh was also discussed in the meeting. With 61 field facilitators and 750 farmers trained, the project is adopting modern techniques such as bed sowing and crop rotation.
In a presentation to the Chief Minister, Sindh Agriculture Minister Muhammad Bakhsh Mehr said that a smart subsidy program aims to cover 50% of production cost in six years for production of oilseeds, pulses and horticulture, with a target of Rs 17 million. 100,000 acres with a dollar budget.
It was also said that digital tools are improving agricultural data collection and market systems and flood mitigation measures have helped farmers.
The Chief Minister remarked that these projects will increase urban housing, agricultural productivity and clean energy. “We will ensure timely completion with uncompromising quality,” Shah said.
The meeting was informed that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Emergency Flood Assistance Project is a $48.4 billion initiative aimed at rebuilding infrastructure damaged during the recent floods and highlighted with 40 roads currently under construction across the province. Making progress.
The Chief Minister stressed the need for timely completion of the project and directed the authorities concerned to ensure that all roads are completed by 2025. Construction Minister Haji Ali Hassan told the Chief Minister that the construction of these roads started in January 2024 and 35.5 percent of it has been completed. The work was already complete. Expressing satisfaction over the progress, the Chief Minister directed the works department to prioritize the completion of certain roads by the end of this year, including four in Thatta, two in Badin and one each in Umarkot and Mirpurkhas.