KARACHI: Encroachments have been removed from the Karachi Circular Railway tracks in district South and a survey and soil testing will be held on the seven-kilometre stretch between the Wazir Mansion and Manghopir stations, setting the stage for Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to perform its groundbreaking on Dec 25.

This emerged at a meeting in the office of Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon on Monday held to review progress on revival of the KCR. Sindh Transport Secretary Saeed Awan briefed the meeting about the removal of encroachments from the tracks.

Mr Memon told the transport secretary to write to the divisional superintendent of the Pakistan Railways in Karachi, the chief engineer of SITE Limited and other relevant officers to ask them to expedite the pace of work at their ends.

Encroachments partially removed, a survey and soil testing to be carried out

The meeting also discussed constituting a committee to be headed by chairman of the Planning and Development Board, Sindh, Mohammad Waseem. Its members would include the transport secretary, commissioner of Karachi Aijaz Ahmed Khan, the managing director of SITE Ltd and others.

While presiding over a meeting on the KCR last month, the chief minister had stated that the KCR revival project had been included in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects and directed all officials concerned to clear the tracks as he wanted to perform the groundbreaking of the project in December.

The initial estimated cost of the KCR revival is $2 billion, and the Sindh government would pay its mobilisation cost. The project was approved by the Central Development Working Party in May and now it would be taken to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) for its final approval.

P&D chairman Mohammad Waseem was asked to expedite the paperwork for placing the project at Ecnec and to invite international tenders for the project in October.

According to Transport Minister Syed Nasir Shah, there were some encroachments on the KCR’s right of way, including factories located between the Wazir Mansion and Manghopir stations discharging their effluent, some cattle pens and dense bushes had also emerged, causing serious problems in survey work.

On the occasion a task force was also constituted under the commissioner of Karachi with all deputy commissioners and other top officers. The assignment of the task force was to formulate an action plan and take immediate measures for the removal of encroachments that had propped up after 2013.

Transport Secretary Saeed Awan said that according to a Japan International Cooperation Agency survey, the project-affected households came to 4,653. He added that the Railways land required for the KCR project was 360 acres and the area under encroachments was around 67 acres.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2017