Efforts are being initiated to turn the city of Karachi into a very important economic hub in the region so that it can meet the WTO standards.
This was stated by a former federal minister, Barrister Shahida Jamil, in an interview with the APP here on Thursday.
She is also an additional consultant of the study "Karachi Vitalisation Scenario" being carried out by the Institute of Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC).
Shahida Jamil was of the view that this is a very important project that has started because in the past too often huge schemes had been brought to Karachi but we in our prejudice or some sort of political stand-off or politics delayed such projects so much that they lapsed.
She cited the example of the Mass Transit scheme did not work out and it lapsed and it went to Indonesia.
Similarly, the Philippines got a huge scheme of sanitation which was for the city of Karachi.
"Those countries benefited as a result, but we did not benefit," she remarked.
It was unfortunate that so many projects come but they do not take off.
She said this time the approach taken by Yusuke Namba, President of Free Time International Inc with the Japan Bank for International Co-operation's sponsored study.
Shahida Jamil said this team came here and held a workshop at a local hotel to ask Karachiites as to what is their vision and what you want to see Karachi and how it can get better.
She stated that when the survey team approached her views were that we got to support it as this is exactly the same which were looking for.
She said that she raised this issue with lot of people in different sectors and got a very good feedback and arranged a number of meetings and workshops for them so that they could sit down and talk to those people including the youths, NGOs, activists, teachers, university professors, lawyers, journalists, government officials.
Shahida Jamil pointed out that this is the team's third visit and after their first two visits they had taken back to Japan the Karachiites' recommendations and on the basis of this they made the draft report.
She said the report would be finalised by the end of the next month.
This preliminary study would then be submitted before the Japan Bank, JICA, Jetro- the major Japanese components for the Overseas Development Assistance (ODA). They will then move to other international donors including the Asian Development Bank etc to arrange finances.
Shahida Jamil said that the Japan Bank for International Co-operation will conduct a serious study and each of the ideas would be developed into projects which will be co-ordinated projects. This process would take another nine months and then will start the funding.
She said the four-member survey team which consists of prominent social and urban town planners, is going to Islamabad to meet the federal government officials.