Secretary Port Qasim Authority (PQA), Muhammad Saqib died on Tuesday after he suffered a heart attack during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs held here at the Parliament House. Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani got him shifted to a nearby hospital immediately in his personal vehicle, but he could not survive. The meeting of the committee was held with Senator Muhammad Ali Saif in the chair.
The committee was informed that at least Rs 39 billion required to deal with maritime pollution as 50 million gallons polluted water is being thrown into the sea on daily basis. The committee members were also informed that people are getting respiratory diseases due to the maritime pollution and three sewerage plants in Karachi are also non-functional.
Marine life like fish and mangroves are also being threatened by the maritime pollution and Karachi will be submerged in water in case of a tsunami. Chairman Karachi Port Trust informed the committee members that they have to spend additional Rs 500 million for their operations due to the maritime pollution. Briefing the committee members about rehabilitation of fishermen in Gwadar, Director General Gwadar Port Authority said that a Chinese company will share a master plan of Gwadar smart city on August 14 this year.
The industries established in the free zone will be exempted from all taxes for 23 years, he said, adding that Pakistani companies can also take part in the tendering process. The current population of Gwadar is 263,514 and a growth rate in the population is around 6 percent in the area, it was informed, adding that old town spreads over one thousand acres of land with congested streets and roads.
He informed the committee members that a plan was formulated in 2004 to shift the whole population of old Gwadar town to a new place with a cost of Rs 7.5 billion, but it was not materialized. The committee members were informed that an alternate 2.5 acres of land are allocated for the resettlement of the population and this will cost around Rs 60 billion to construct homes, roads and other needed infrastructure.
About shortage of water in the Gwadar, the committee was informed that an agreement has been reached with a Chinese firm that will provide 5 million gallons of water to the city in next two years. The committee members were informed that two dams are also being constructed in the area with a total cost of Rs 3 billion while Rs 1450 million out of them are urgently needed to be released to complete the projects in time.
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