KARACHI, June 16: The Sindh government has allocated Rs2.639 billion for special projects in Karachi in its budget statement for the financial year 2008-09.

The allocation is in addition to the Asian Development Bank funded Karachi Mega City Development Programme. In his budget speech, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that the programme was being upgraded and would specifically attend to mass transit including light rail.

“We expect to scale it up from existing $800 million to $1.5 to 2 billion.”

The government has allocated Rs50 million for Karachi Mega City project (technical assistance) while it is expecting Rs285 million foreign grants during the current financial year.

Budget documents show that the Sindh government has allocated Rs200 million for the Lyari Expressway Resettlement project.

A Rs50 million Lyari Development package is also part of the budgetary allocation.

The major chunk of the budgetary allocation goes to water and sewerage and works and services related schemes.

An amount of Rs200 million has been earmarked for the construction of a flyover at Banaras Chowk with the inclusion of four pedestrian bridges; Rs100 million is allocated for the construction of a bridge over the Lyari River connecting Surjani with Gulshan-i-Maymar Super Highway; Rs50 million for the construction of a bridge over railway line in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Block 10; Rs10 million for the construction of an overhead bridge at Thado Nullah in Gadap Town.

The government has allocated Rs200 million for construction of a road from Super Highway to Jinnah Terminal; Rs70 million for widening of Sharea Faisal from FTC to Hotel Metropole.

Besides, a huge sum of Rs1.114 billion has been allocated for 18 projects relating to construction and rehabilitation of different roads in the city. The projects include rehabilitation and construction of University Road (Rs100 million); Link Road from Hawkesbay Housing Scheme to Karachi Northern Bypass (Rs50 million); construction of road from Shahrah-i-Qaddafi and rehabilitation of 21 roads CDGK (Rs150 million).

Around Rs211.77 million has been allocated for eight other schemes relating to laying or improvement of water and sewerage infrastructure system in the city. These includes laying of a water supply line from Hub reservoir to Hawkesbay Scheme and Baldia Town (Rs100 million); laying and joining of 24” dia pipeline from Hub reservoir to German pump station Orangi Town (Rs20 million); construction of natural nullahs in Orangi, Baldia, SITE, North Nazimabad, Korangi, and Gulshan-i-Iqbal towns (Rs25 million); replacement of old damaged encroached main, sub-main and internal water supply lines and removal of construction and improvement of water supply system in different union councils of Shah Faisal Town (Rs25 million) etc.