Daily Times

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah underlined on Monday that the provincial government was committed to investing Rs6 billion for development work to completely operationalize the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR).

While presiding over a meeting on the KCR at the CM House, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah swore to keep his word on the project. He asked railway officials to have the project’s PC-I approved by the federal government.

The chief minister has requested Pakistan Railways to complete fencing work along the KRC corridor. Murad Ali Shah stated that he will defend the current KCR while also seeking to realise the people of Karachi’s desire for a modernised KCR.

He told railway officials that his government will assist them in upgrading the existing KCR’s operation.

The gathering was informed that the repair of a 14-kilometer track from the City Station to the Orangi Station was finished on February 10, 2021, with two trains operating each day.

It’s worth noting that the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) is set to begin work on three buildings along the KCR route, as well as an elevated 6.4-kilometer structure, at a cost of Rs11.508 billion, with the provincial government contributing Rs6 billion.

On June 18, the Supreme Court ordered the Sindh government to finish the procedure for PC-I approval, contract signing, and issue of work orders for the updated design of the KCR lines within one month.

Issuing orders on the Sindh government’s report over the KCR’s revised plan, the SC’s three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, had directed the Sindh government to ensure that all requisite financial resources are made available, so that project could be completed as expeditiously as possible.

Earlier, the counsel of the FWO had pointed out that the feasibility report duly approved by the Pakistan Railways has been submitted to the Sindh government, which has neither approved the PC-I nor has any contract been signed or work order issued to the FWO. He also submitted that no funds have been released for the construction of underpasses and overhead bridges.

To a court query about non-compliance of the court directives, the AG Sindh submitted that the FWO, in consultation with the Pakistan Railways, has changed the scope of the project and has submitted a feasibility report, which requires certain portions of the KCR route to be elevated and certain branch lines to be connected with the mainline, which would go much beyond the financial commitment made by the Sindh government.

In response to the AG Sindh’s statement, Commander FWO claimed that his organisation had surveyed the KCR route with experts and consultants and discovered that it was impossible to build underpasses and overhead bridges in certain areas, and that the most feasible way to operate the railways was to elevate the railway line to minimise traffic obstruction. He also stated that the project’s overall cost remained the same.