KARACHI: A substantial sum of Rs2.89 billion was approved on Tuesday for development projects, including the construction of new roads under the Karachi Development Authority (KDA).

The decision was made during a meeting of the Sindh Cabinet’s finance committee, chaired by ministers Nasir Hussain Shah, Zia Lanjar, and Saeed Ghani.

Informed sources said that the move to entrust the KDA with the city’s infrastructure development was based on a proposal from the local government department. The decision is being viewed as significant, especially since several of KDA’s ongoing projects are already facing delays due to various challenges.

Sources added that the local government department had expressed reservations about the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) capacity to manage additional responsibilities and recommended transferring the uplift projects to the KDA.

A press release said that the finance committee meeting, which was also attended by secretaries from multiple departments, reviewed requests for both development and non-development funds. It also discussed the financial challenges faced by various government institutions in executing public relief projects.

One item on the agenda, the construction of a stadium at St. Patrick’s High School under the school education department, was postponed due to the absence of the relevant secretary.

The committee approved Rs299 million for the transport department to procure e-bikes for women under the non-Annual Development Programme (ADP) scheme.

Other approvals included a water supply scheme for 35 villages in Gadap Town, District Malir, sourced from the M-9 Superhighway, as well as salary payments for Rescue 1122 personnel deployed in flood-affected areas, funded by the World Bank.

An increase was also approved in the cost of construction of the road from Nawabshah to Saeedabad and the construction of a drain in it to Nawabshah under ADP Scheme 3332.

The purchase of vaccines under the health department was also approved.

The meeting further approved various schemes of the work, culture and tourism, climate change and coastal departments.

The agenda of the departments whose secretaries were not present at the meeting was deferred to the next session, with instructions that any secretary whose items were on the schedule must attend.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2025