KARACHI: Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday while urging the Sindh government to reconsider Bundle Island project, called for renewed coordination between the federal and provincial governments for successful accomplishment of mega projects.
"Regarding problems of Karachi, both the federal and Sindh governments will have to move again together. All this is interconnected. Some things federal government cannot do alone while others Sindh government cannot do solely without centre's support," he said.
Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project, the prime minister said the project would shift burden from Karachi's roads.
Federal Ministers Asad Umar, Azam Swati, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain and Ali Haider Zaidi, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah attended the ceremony.
The prime minister said major cities were the engines of growth for any country, like London for the UK, New York for the US and Karachi for Pakistan. He said Karachi was about to take off in the 1980s when it was hit by riots, thus impacting the whole country.
Will have to keep political differences aside for Karachi: PM Imran
He said in September, both the federal and Sindh governments announced Karachi Transformation Plan for uplift of the city. He believed that Karachi could attract foreign investment but the provision of basic infrastructure like public transport was a prerequisite. He said the required investment was not made in the public transport sector of Karachi.
Imran Khan said the issue of water supply to Karachi would be resolved within two years once the K-4 project was completed.
He urged the Sindh government to reconsider the Bundle Island project as Sindh would be the sole beneficiary of it in form of profits, as well as, jobs. The project would also help reduce burden on Karachi, he added.
He said it would be difficult to provide utilities if Karachi continued to sprawl with the same pace. Moreover, the cities would become unsustainable if future planning was not made, timely. He said the Ravi City was also being developed to protect Lahore.
The prime minister said both Bundle Island and Ravi City projects would attract foreign investment, particularly from the overseas Pakistanis.
He said the foreign investment would also help stabilize local currency till the country's exports touch the desired level.
He said the work on Karachi's three drains was moving on fast pace to avert recurrence of flooding situation in the city. He lauded the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) for project's swift execution.
He told the gathering that the mega projects could not be completed without a political will. He said the projects would get stuck up in ministries unless they have full backing of the government. Any unnecessary delay also made the projects financially unfeasible, he added.
The prime minister said both the federal and Sindh governments would have to pay full attention to the KCR project to save costs. He reiterated that the federal government was resolved to execute the project and hoped provincial government would also extend cooperation in that regard.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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