KARACHI: Senate’s Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives on Thursday expressed its concern over delays, cost escalation and lack of coordination between federal and provincial authorities on major infrastructure development projects in Sindh.

The projects include the bulk water supply scheme for Karachi, known as K-IV, major railway upgrade project ML-1 and motorway schemes for the province.

The meeting, held at the Sindh Secretariat, was chaired by Senator Qurat-ul-Ain Marri.

Committee members Jam Saifullah Khan, Atta-ur-Rehman, Dost Ali Jaiser, Zameer Hussain Ghumro and Ashraf Ali Jatoi attended the proceedings while Sadia Abbasi joined it online.

The committee was briefed on ongoing Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) projects for 2025–26, including the Karachi water supply K-IV project, Sukkur-Hyderabad-Karachi Motorway (M-6), Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-10) and the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project.

Takes strong exception to province’s exclusion from approval process of Thar Coal Rail Connectivity project

Taking strong exception to the exclusion of Sindh government from the approval process of the Thar Coal Rail Connectivity project, Senator Marri questioned why the province was not taken into confidence despite being a partner in the project.

She asked whether anyone was held accountable for preparing and approving the PC-I without Sindh’s involvement. She tasked Jam Saifullah Khan with identifying those responsible for the increase in the project cost from Rs53 billion to Rs90 billion and for bypassing the provincial government.

Jam Saifullah Khan reminded the railways secretary that a memorandum of understanding existed between the federal and Sindh governments on the Thar Coal project and warned that providing inaccurate information to the Senate committee amounted to disrespect. He directed the ministry to submit a comprehensive and accurate report within a month.

Briefing the committee, the railways secretary said the ML-1 project had been facing delays since 2015 due to various factors. He added that financial assistance was expected from the Asian Development Bank, after which the foundation stone of the Karachi-Rohri section would be laid next year.

Sindh Planning and Development Board Chairman Najam Shah informed the committee that multiple applications seeking no-objection certificates (NOCs) for overhead bridges and railway crossings were pending with Pakistan Railways. The committee directed the railways secretary to issue all pending NOCs and submit a compliance report within one month.

Responding to a query by Sadia Abbasi regarding the Karachi Green Line and Thar Coal Railway projects, CEO PIDCL Wasim Bajwa said work on the Green Line BRT was underway under the common corridor project. He said Rs3 billion allocated for the current year had already been utilised, adding that the project would be completed by October 31, 2026.

The committee also took notice of the absence of the communication secretary. Its chairperson expressed her displeasure over his repeated absence. She said the official would be summoned, rather than invited, to future meetings.

An official from the communications department informed the committee that tenders for the M-6 Motorway had been invited. The project comprised five sections, two of which were expected to be completed by June 2026, he said.

Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro complained that following the dissolution of the Pakistan Works Department, Sindh had received only six of its 27 ongoing projects, while other provinces transferred all their projects within their jurisdictions.

Najam Shah further told the committee that federal funds for Sindh had not been released for two consecutive quarters. The committee directed the finance division to release the funds at the earliest.

While discussing road infrastructure, the secretary of roads said that the Tando Allahyar and Rohri road projects would be completed ahead of schedule, noting Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah’s personal interest in the schemes.

To a question regarding the proposed IT park in Karachi, Federal Secretary for Planning Awais Manzoor said the Korea-funded Ministry of IT project is currently in the tendering stage.

Briefing the committee on the K-IV water supply project, Additional Secretary Water Resources Mehar Ali Shah said the World Bank is financing the project, which is a joint federal-provincial initiative. Chairperson Marri stressed that completion of the KB Feeder Project is a World Bank condition and warned that further delays would also push up the cost.

She directed the federal and provincial irrigation departments to immediately convene a meeting with consultants, the Water and Power Development Authority and National Engineering Services Pakistan to resolve outstanding issues.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2025