Daily Times

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi Sunday expressed his annoyance over the delayed reopening of Karachi Port Trust (KPT) Overpass which was closed about two years ago.

The Minister said it was regrettable that it took two years to fix a minor issue in the bridge and an enquiry would be conducted in this regard.

Talking to media on the occasion Ali Haider Zaidi said that the reopening of the bridge would ensure smooth flow of traffic towards PICT and Port.

To a question, he answered that he would continue to keep strict supervision on the lands of Karachi Port Trust (KPT) because during the tenure of previous governments the KPT lands were leased on nepotism and other malpractices.

The Minister said he had stopped the lease of KPT lands two years ago to halt such malpractices in the process. He announced that a technology city would be set up on KPT property for which open tenders would be issued.

Ali Zaidi said that work on the ferry terminal was underway at a fast pace. The Ministry of Maritime Affairs, he said, had been totally converted to an e-filing system and the outdated procedure of movement of files had been discarded.

He said according to the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the unclaimed coastal areas within 12 nautical miles were the property of the provincial government while outside 12 nautical miles they were the jurisdiction of the federal government.

Ali Haider Zaidi said that the Environment department was being administered by the provincial government of Sindh, they should be asked why about 550 million gallons of sewage water was being dumped into the sea on a daily basis.

“In 2019, I was supervising the cleaning of drains, although it was not the responsibility of the federal government. In 2020 the drains were not cleaned by the provincial government and as a result the rain water entered the houses of citizens”, he remarked.

Earlier, the Federal Minister also reprimanded the officials of KPT Public Relations department for not facilitating the media personnel.