Timelines set to expedite work: Murad, Najy discuss $3.4bn World Bank-assisted projects

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and the World Bank high-powered team led by its Country Director Najy Binhassine reviewed the overall progress of World Bank-assisted 14 projects of $3.4 billion and agreed to remove the bottlenecks that exist and speed up the slow pace of projects for their timely completion.

The review meeting was held at the CM House on Wednesday. It was attended by provincial ministers - Sharjeel Memon, Dr Azra Fazal, Nasir Shah, Saeed Ghani, Sardar Shah, Jam Khan Shoro, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, P&D Chairman Najam Shah, provincial secretaries and project director of the World Bank-assisted projects. The World Bank team comprised Kamran Akbar, Murtaza Noorani, Omar Riaz, Waleed Anwar, Uzma Sadaf and others.

Karachi Mobility Project KMP: The KMP aims to enhance mobility, accessibility, and safety along selected corridors in the city. It comprises the construction of two bridges (Jam Sadiq Bridges) for Yellow Line BRT corridors, the development and operation of the BRT Yellow Line System, and capacity building and technical assistance for the project.

Progress regarding the Jam Sadiq bridges, it was reported in the meeting that the concept design was finalized on August 6, mobilization has been completed, the test pile was cast on July 7, and load tests are scheduled to be conducted on August 12.

As far as the development and operationalisation of a BRT system for Yellow Line, the meeting was told that Financial bids opened in April 2024. The WB issued the required consent and now Contract Singing is expected to be held next week.

CLICK: The Competitive and Livable City of Karachi (CLICK) project has been launched to improve urban management, service delivery and the business environment in the city and provide an immediate and effective response to an eligible crisis or emergency.

The meeting was told that the Geographic Information System (GIS) based Management Information System (MIS) MIS is being developed for property tax survey.

It was pointed out that the Technical Evaluation has been shared with the WB. The firm is planned to be on board by August 30, 2024.

Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project (KWSSIP): The KWSSIP is aimed at improving access to safe water services in Karachi and increasing KWSB’s financial and operational performance.

The World Bank team was informed that most major procurements for the project have been tendered. Currently, all activities are on track to be delivered by project closing. Promising bids were received for Meters procurement and were under Evaluation. In case of successful bids, the contract would be signed in September, 2024.

The chief minister said that the World Bank has released Rs 238 million for K-IV Augmentation works and the provincial government was in the process of releasing its share. He added that the work on K-IV augmentation would be started shortly.

Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP): The SSEP project is designed to increase solar power generation and access to electricity in the province. Under the project, solar parks would be established apart from the solarisation of public buildings, and the Solar Home System (SHS) to be distributed.

The meeting was told that the contract has been awarded for solar park but NTDC has yet to finalise the approval for the grid interconnection study required for NEPRA’s approval. Demarcation for solar park land at Manjhad, district Jamshoro is in process for which the CM directed BoR to expedite the work and report him.

It was disclosed that all 34 government buildings have been solarised.

The World Bank team gave the go-ahead to the Sindh government to start the SHS system among 200,000 families so that they could enjoy the facility.

Sindh Early Learning Enhancement through Classroom Transformation (SELECT): The project is aimed at improving the reading skills of early-grade primary students and increasing student retention in primary schools in the selected districts.

As far as the transforming teaching practices in early grades, the meeting was told that in-house material has been developed for grade-I & II. The material would be ready by the end of September 2024.

Water & Agriculture Transformation: The purpose of Sindh water and Agriculture Transformation Project (SWAT) ensure water resource management, improve water service delivery, targeted agricultural Incentives and Investments, and agriculture flood emergency rehabilitation.

The meeting was told that the water law consultants have made on board. The Sindh water policy Implementation committee has been notified and would meet in the first week of September with a primary focus on initiating the formulation of a new water Resource law.

Akram Wah Rehabilitation: The meeting discussed the rehabilitation of Akram Wah and agreed on the lining option [Akram Wah] from RD 0-193. The Project Steering Committee (PSC) unanimously approved this decision. The consultant submitted a proposal justifying the lining of the Akram Wah Canal, which was then shared with the World Bank. It was decided that the consultant would conduct a geological investigation and prepare a comprehensive report before finalizing the decision.

SIDA has completed payment for 1210 out of 1246 (97% completion rate) AED-affected households. The remaining 36 PAPs will be paid once their traceability and other documentation issues are verified. A media campaign has been initiated for the traceability of PAPs, and the process is expected to be completed by August 2024.The WB team was told that as of July 15, 2024, out 298,966 eligible registered farmers up to 25 acres, 72 per cent have received area-based allocations, and 68 per cent of farmers out of a total 235,470 up to 12.5 acres have received additional lump-sum payments.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024