Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) has chalked out a plan to carry out a package of different 'essential' development projects costing approximately $9 million with help of the South Korean government's soft grant, officials said on Monday. In this regard, officials said, a proposal with the projects cost assessment would soon be submitted to the planning and development department of the Sindh government for getting them approved.
However, they made it clear if the South Korean government did not approve to finance these projects, then ultimately, the Sindh government would financially support it to build the fish harbour on the modern lines. The package of projects was earlier part of the harbour's master plan, but now the KFHA intends to carry it out separately after the authority failed to receive Rs 2.500 billion funds for the mega project from the Sindh government, officials added.
"After the KFHA failed to finance master plan through the Sindh government to build the fish harbour on modern lines," the officials said, adding that the authority was now trying to capitalise on the South Korean's offer to materialise the projects. Officials said the Korean government would provide around $3 million if it approved the package and the Sindh government would make available the remaining amount to execute these projects, which included setting up of a desalination plant, a water treatment plant, a water supply network, a river osmosis plant and a fire fighting system at the harbour.
"With a view to rehabilitate the harbour, the KFHA chalked out a plan to execute first the much needed basic projects of infrastructure as harbour's master plan is expected to take more years for its implementation because the Sindh government's weak financial position," they elaborated.
They said the South Korean government had offered the Sindh government to finance development projects up to $3 million, which the KFHA wanted to avail the financial assistance for its long-delayed infrastructure project. The Board of Directors of KFHA had approved the master plan for the harbour's modernisation with the estimated cost of Rs 2.500 billion in August 2009, but so far the mega uplift project could not receive funds for its execution. The NESPAK- a private consultant firm had designed the master plan, according to officials.
The master plan includes projects like establishment of a new seafood auction hall, a new seafood landing jetty, an office building for KFHA, RCC roads, installation of air-conditions at auction halls, setting up of a fire fighting system, repair and maintenance of existing installations, etc. The harbour was last rehabilitated in 1991 with the financial assistance from the EU since then there has been huge congestion.