KARACHI, April 8: City Nazim Naimatullah Khan has said that the city has attracted significant foreign investment in the post 9/11 scenario by offering conducive environment to the investors.
Speaking at a lecture on "Problems in Karachi and their solutions", organized by the Karachi Gymkhana, the nazim criticized the western media for painting a negative picture of the city. He said that foreign investors had shown confidence in the port city of fourteen million people.
He said that crime rate of Karachi was negligible as compared with the cities of New York and Washington and many other cities of the developed countries.
The nazim pointed out that law and order condition had improved since the inception of the city district government. He said that eagerness on part of the foreign investors in different mega projects was a clear example of improved law and order.
Naimatullah Khan stressed the need for exploring alternate sources of water supply and said that a desalination plant was badly needed for the city where population influx from the entire country was taking place.
He said that almost every major port city in the world was using sea water as an alternate source by setting up desalination plants. Unfortunately, he added, the project was never taken seriously by the successive governments.
Apprising the progress over the issue, the nazim said that negotiations were taking place with several foreign parties and soon there would be positive results. Terming the water and sewerage as the core problem faced by the city, Mr Khan said that since the inception of city district government things had gradually improved, but still there was a lot to be done.
Recalling the post independence period, the nazim said that Karachi had a population of 0.3 million at that time and the only source of water was Damloti wells. However, the wells nearly dried up with the passage of time due to the constant illegal excavation of Reti bajri from Malir, he said.
Mr Khan said that at present Karachi had two sources of water, the Indus and the Hub rivers. He attributed 45-year-old water distribution system and over 35 per cent line leakages as some major causes of water shortages.
Referring to the transport as another neglected segment, the nazim said that 20 to 25 years old minibuses and coaches were plying on roads. In the given situation, he said, the city needed a new transport scheme. Subsequently, he added, the Urban Transport Scheme was launched under which big buses were introduced on roads.
Fourteen new transporters had approached the city government in the first phase and 16 in the second phase, he said, adding that they have promised more big buses on the city roads. Referring to the mass transit programme, Naimatullah Khan informed the audience that expression of interest had been called and several foreign investors had come forward and shown interest in the project.
