Daily Times

President Dr Arif Alvi Sunday welcomed the unveiling of Karachi package worth Rs1,100 billion by Prime Minister Imran Khan during his visit to the city yesterday.

On his twitter account, the president posted: “A good package worth Rs 1100B for Karachi & further discussion on needs of rest of Sindh is a welcome response.”

“PPP/PTI cooperation in earnest can do wonders to lift my city out of misery. Now our test will be in implementation. We must understand that it is the people who matter,” he said referring to the joint contribution to be made by both federal and provincial governments in the historic package under Karachi Transformation Plan.

He said rains had devastated Karachi, which was the biggest tax payer of the country. “Reviving its economy rests on its infrastructure, its roads, water supply, rain drains & sewage.”

The president further noted that better solid waste handling and modernization of transport, through Karachi Central Railway (KCR) & Bus Rapid Transit systems (BRTs) had been crying out for attention.

According to details, the Rs1,113 billion mega development package for Karachi under Karachi Transformation Plan included water supply projects of Rs 92 billion, sewage treatment Rs 141 billion, solid waste management, storm water drains clearance and resettlement Rs 267 billion, roads Rs 41 billion, and mass transit, rail and road transport Rs 572 billion.

Meanwhile, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail took to Twitter on Sunday morning to express gratitude to Prime Minister Imran Khan for announcing a “historic” Karachi package. He said the rain-ravaged city needed this package, adding the government will lay out a comprehensive plan to revamp other cities of the Sindh province as well. “The prime minister proved that Karachi is not alone,” he added.

Prime Minister Khan had on Saturday evening announced a ‘historic’ Rs1100 billion financial package for the execution of a transformation plan meant to address the city’s chronic issues and meet its developmental requirements. Briefing media about the Karachi package here at Governor House, he said the federal government is fully aware of the problems being faced by the people of Karachi over the past many years and the PTI government has decided to resolve all perennial issues of the metropolis.

Separately, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi said that projects of Rs 1.113 trillion will be jointly funded by Federal and Provincial Governments for development of Karachi and termed it a game changer for Karachi.

In a tweet, the minister said “an amount of Rs. 572 billion will be spent on Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), Rs. 267 billion on solid waste, drains clearance and resettlement, Rs. 141 billion on sewage treatment, Rs. 92 billion on water supply projects and Rs. 41 billion on roads.”

He said that Provincial Coordination and Implementation Committee – PCIC with representatives from Federal, Provincial and Pakistan Army will monitor projects and progress, adding that work on projects will start immediately and finish within 3 years.