KARACHI, Aug 30: The District Development Working Party of the city government on Monday approved uplift projects with estimated cost of Rs1.017 billion and issued instructions for starting work on these projects.

The meeting of the DDWP was held on Monday evening with DCO Fazalur Rehman in the chair.

The six-hour meeting was attended by EDO Works and Services Sarfraz Ali Shah, officers of the Finance and Planning, Works and Services, Parks and other departments, besides directors of various projects.

The meeting discussed uplift projects in detail, and asked relevant project officers to take steps to ensure timely work on these projects, approved by the DDWP. It was decided that the Finance and Planning Department would release funds for the projects immediately.

The meeting took notice that traffic pressure on Sharea Faisal from Hotel Hotel Metropole to Star gate was increasing.

It was, therefore, decided in principle that one more lane would be added to each side of the road at an estimated cost of Rs460 million. The meeting directed that necessary steps for starting the project be taken immediately.

The meeting praised the beautification of the city’s beach and decided to start eight more schemes at an estimated cost of Rs400 million to complete the beautification plan of the city’s coastal area.

These schemes include construction of six parking lots, each with a capacity for 500 vehicles, on a 3.5-km area; two service roads and beautifully tiled steps on the beach-line; a food street; and construction of more than 30 modern toilets.

The meeting decided to initiate a Rs100 million special project to paint all Karachi bridges and flyovers, and fix tiles at bus stops to beautify them. The meeting approved painting of the Baloch Colony Flyover for a start.

It noted with concern that various organizations pasted posters and wrote graffiti on bridges, which not only damaged their paint, but also affected their beauty.

The meeting suggested that a law should be made to impose the full cost of paint as fine on the concerned organization that pastes posters.

The meeting also approved Rs150 million for cleaning and beautifying the Neher Khiyam in Clifton. This project had been put on the back burner for the last 25 years. It would now be completed in six months.

The DDWP okayed construction of four roads in Site Town at an estimated cost of Rs50 million, besides approving Rs10 million for the beautification and installation of modern streetlights on Sharea Faisal from Star Gate to Natha Khan Bridge.

The DCO, Fazalur Rehman, told the meeting that the city government had funds and there was no reason to delay the uplift projects.

He said it was the city government’s responsibility to facilitate the citizens.

He warned that despite availability of funds if any project was not completed on schedule, the responsible officer would be taken to task.

He said that weather conditions in Karachi permitted work in night hours, so uplift projects could be completed by working round-the-clock.

In this regard, he asked that a three-shift work system should be introduced to complete all development schemes in time.

He said such officers and engineers would be fully encouraged, who may complete their projects before schedule by maintaining work standard.—PPI