-PM to perform groundbreaking of KCR during Karachi visit today
-Governor Sindh says Rs250 billion mega project will be completed in three years
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday termed the inclusion of the Karachi Comprehensive Coastal Development Zone (KCCDZ) in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a game changer.
The premier added that the project would help “cleanup our marine habitat for fishermen and present opportunities for investors.
He also announced that 20,000 low income housing units will be developed under the project.
PM further stated that the KCCDZ, “Will put Karachi at par with developed port cities,” and felicitated the maritime authority for their efforts in this regard.
On September 23, Board of Investment (BOI) Secretary Fareena Mazhar said that the BOI, as convener of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Industrial Cooperation under the CPEC, has facilitated the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Karachi Port Trust and China Road and Bridge Corporation on the KCCDZ project.She expressed these views during the 10th meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of CPEC.
Mazhar said that the MoU will pave the way for the resolution of infrastructure issues in Karachi, besides fostering maritime development and providing job opportunities through the generation of sustainable economic activity based on transfer of technology to the maritime industry.
The consensus was reached to make the KCCDZ project part of the CPEC framework during the fifth meeting of the JWG on Industrial Cooperation on December 15, 2020. The meeting was co-convened by the BOI and the National Development and Reform Commission of China. During the huddle, it was also agreed by Pakistan and China that the draft framework agreement on industrial cooperation under CPEC would be finalised and signed before the next JCC meeting.Meanwhile Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Sunday has announced that PM will visit Karachi on Monday (today) to perform groundbreaking of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project, officials said.
Ismail while speaking to the media in Karachi on Sunday said the ceremony will be held at Cantt Railway Station. He said that the Rs250 billion mega project will be completed in three years, adding that 16 stations would be built along the 43kilometre-long track. The governor said that Green Line Bus Service will also be operationalised next month and the K-4 water supply project will be completed by the end of 2023. The PM during his day-long visit to the port city will also meet several party leaders and lawmakers.
He will be briefed over the ongoing development projects in Sindh, and would also meet with the religious scholars representing different schools of thought.
