KARACHI: Rs1bn special programme for Korangi announced: Industrial area uplift
KARACHI, Nov 10: City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal has announced Rs1 billion special development programme for improvement of water and sewerage system in the Korangi Industrial area, and said that its implementation will start in a week.
He made the announcement while speaking at a reception hosted in his honour by the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry here on Thursday.
He called for the formation of an authoritative committee of businessmen and industrialists for monitoring the development work to be carried out under the programme, and assured the audience that all works would be accomplished with the consent and in consultation with the committee.
The nazim pointed out that he had taken over the office of the city nazim only a fortnight back and had come out with the gigantic programme in this short span of time. He described the programme as a gift from the city government for people of Karachi, especially for industrialists.
He recalled that it was in 1978 that a major flood devastated the infrastructure of this industrial area, which provided highest revenue, but in the following 27 years, no one paid attention to its restoration.
“Had I been entrusted with the Rs29 billion Tameer-i-Karachi Programme, I would have allocated Rs9 billion for the reconstruction and development of this area.”
He said he was not saying this to appease the big industrialists present here, but there was a justification. “Pakistan receives revenue of Rs250 million per day from this area. Development of this will help boost economic activities, leading to increased revenue generation. Secondly, thousands of people work here and, God forbid, if the industries are closed down or moved out, this could render these people jobless.”
He was of the view that if industrialists of Karachi were provided with facilities, this would help generate more and more jobs.
Syed Mustafa Kamal said that in a short span, he had approved Rs900 million — Rs50 million each for 18 towns — as an immediate step for solving the problems of water and sewerage in Karachi.
He said that abundant resources had been made available in Karachi during the last four years, but no step had been taken for the repair or replacement of water and sewerage lines. He pointed out that no system existed for distribution of its water after completion of the K-3 project of additional water supply to the city. In this regard, the water board had immediately been provided Rs27 million for system strengthening before the K-3 project started functioning.
He was confident that people of Karachi would feel a change in the city within a year.
Mr Kamal elucidated his policies and said work had been started on short- and long-term planning on improvement in water, sewerage, sanitation, transport, health and education systems. Success was possible only when there was an improvement on administrative side, he added.
The reception was also addressed by Town Nazim Mohammed Arif Khan, prominent industrialist S.M. Munir, Chairman KATI Gulzar Feroz and Mian Zahid Hussain.
The industrialists recalled that it was during the tenure of Dr Farooq Sattar as mayor of the city that special attention had been paid to the Korangi industrial area’s problems. They expressed the confidence that now when Haq Parast people had returned to the city government, their problems would get the same attention and be resolved. They offered their full cooperation to the city nazim.—APP
