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KARACHI, May 7: Iran has offered to set up a bus manufacturing plant in the city and a memorandum of understanding in this regard will be signed shortly after negotiations are finalized with a bus manufacturing corporation of Tehran, City Nazim Naimatullah Khan said on Tuesday.
Highlighting details of his recent visit to Iran at a news conference, he said a bus manufacturing corporation of Tehran had expressed its interest in manufacturing 1,000 buses at the proposed plant and the buses would start plying in the city in different phases.
Emphasizing the need for introducing environment-friendly buses in the city, Mr Khan said negotiations with a group of Pakistanis living in the United States for operating 300 CNG (compressed natural gas) buses had been completed and some positive outcome of the discussions would emerge soon.
EXPRESSWAY: About the 14,000 people who would be uprooted from the alignment of Lyari Expressway, the Nazim said each affected family was earlier being given an alternative plot of 80 square yards and Rs50,000 cash, but now the overseas Pakistanis have offered to construct one- unit houses on the 80-square-yard plot, each costing Rs50,000, in Hawkesbay, Baldia and Deh Taiser for the affected families and the Sindh government had, in principle, agreed to the proposal.
He said since Rs50,000 were not enough for constructing a one-unit house, the overseas Pakistan would generate funds for the purpose by selling commercial plots in those localities where the affectees were being rehabilitated.
Regarding kutchi abadis, he said the overseas Pakistanis had also expressed willingness to provide infrastructures for upgradation of these units.
Terming the water and sewerage system of the city ‘unsatisfactory’, the City Nazim said during his meeting with President Pervez Musharraf he had requested him to permit the city government to levy road-user charges and import duties for generating funds so that the obsolete water and sewerage system could be revamped and improved.
Expressing his gratitude to President Musharraf for laying foundation stones of Lyari Expressway, Northern Bypass and 100mgd water project, Mr Khan hoped that the President would ensure more funds for the city government so that other developmental projects could be initiated.
METRO TRAIN: With regard to the city government’s plan of introducing a magnetic train, he said the government had already received a draft of the MoU, which would be signed after scrutiny.
Unfolding details of the proposed magnetic train (Metro Train), which an international firm — Inter Globe — has agreed to introduce in Karachi, he said 100-kilometre-long network would be laid by the company for operating the magnetic train at an estimated cost of Rs1.2 billion.
He expressed optimism that the proposed project would be completed in two years and thereafter it would be extended to other parts of the country for transporting gas and oil to Karachi from the Central Asian states for onward export.
The company, which will transport oil and gas to Karachi from the Central Asian countries for export, will spend ten billion dollars each on oil and gas, while the city government would provide storage facilities for the commodities, he added.
CORRUPTION: Referring to the measures which he had taken to check corrupt practices in the city government, he claimed that the steps being taken for ensuring transparency in awarding tenders had resulted in saving of Rs190 million.
Mr Khan said he had to cancel a tender pertaining to appointment of consultants after he was told that some vested interests had given the tender for an exaggerated amount of Rs250 million. The same tender on being re- invited was awarded for only Rs60 million, thus Rs190 million were saved, he added.
He said when he had expressed his dissatisfaction over the cleanliness measures in Cattle Colony, he was told that cleanliness work in the area was being hampered due to malfunctioning of a dumper and its repairing would cost Rs900,000, whereas he got the same dumper repaired for only Rs42,000.
Citing another example of corruption, he said a case of concealing Rs16 million in one account of defunct KDA had been unearthed in a recent budget meeting.
He said during his nine-month tenure in office, he had signed three MoUs pertaining to the development projects and two more MoUs relating to power generation plants, circular railways, amusement parks, solid waste management were in the final stages of being signed.
Referring to his recent visits to China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Thailand and Iran, The Nazim said not a single penny of the city government was spent on his visits as all these trips were either sponsored by the overseas Pakistanis or were on the invitation of the host countries.
LAW & ORDER: Asked what measures he was taking to improve law and order situation in the city, he said although as City Nazim he was also responsible for law and order situation, but he had no control on the police as the police department had not yet been technically devolved to the city government.
He, however, said the city police chief and DIG (operation) were cooperating with him in improving the law and order situation.
