KARACHI: The Sindh police have launched a Rs846 million project to install more surveillance cameras at important locations in the city in addition to the existing 1,000 cameras to be able to meet growing security challenges and help make the ongoing ‘targeted-operation’ a success, say police sources on Sunday.

They said the recently launched project was part of Sindh police’s ‘video surveillance system’ which was initiated in 2009 under which 900 cameras were installed at 174 locations. The second phase of the project would cover areas that mostly fell under the east and south zone of the police organisational structure.

“The tender has already been issued in this regard inviting companies to participate in the bid process,” said an official privy to the development. “The company winning the tender will fix cameras at locations identified by police with its command and control centre already established at the central police office (CPO).”

He said the department had estimated Rs846 million as initial cost of the project but the amount could be reviewed later once the project became functional. Though the official did not share the exact locations and their number identified by police for the second phase of the project, he was sure “it will not be less than the cameras already installed in the first phase.”

The city first started coming under video surveillance in 2008 when the then city government formally launched its command and control system to keep an eye on two signal-free corridors — Sharea Faisal to SITE and Surjani Town — with 54 cameras monitoring and recording movement of vehicles and people.

The project was expanded further over the time and currently the KMC-owned command and control centre operates around 150 cameras across the city under the supervision of Karachi police.

The very next year in 2009 Sindh police launched its own ‘video surveillance system’ that took some two years to become functional with more than 900 cameras installed at 174 locations, mostly within the limits of the south zone police, which were identified as sensitive and vulnerable areas.

“Apart from the two surveillance systems operated by the Sindh police and KMC, the city traffic police also operates 198 cameras which were designed and financed by Sindh ministry of information technology but it later declined to run it for financial constraints,” said an official.

“So there is a plan to have an integrated surveillance system with at least 3,000 cameras covering Karachi under the Sindh police supervision within next couple of years. Then in the next phase there is a plan to integrate the surveillance cameras of banks, private firms and shopping centres with the police system.”

The technology, he said, would help the investigators to a large extent in effective policing. The recently-launched second phase of the ‘video surveillance system’ was part of different programmes designed under the 2013-14 budget, added the official.

The Sindh government has allocated Rs48bn for law and order in its budget for 2013-14. The Sindh chief minister had also announced recruitment of 20,000 policemen this fiscal year while presenting the budget 2013-14 in June 2013.