KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah in a follow-upmeeting with a four-member World Bank delegation led by its CountryDirector Patchamuthu Illangovan finalised three important projects forKarachi.
The meeting was attended by World Bank’s Operations Manager Ms. MelindaGood, Operation Officer Ms. Amena Raja, Program Leader Saiyed Shabih AliMohib and Sindh Chairman Planning and Development Mohammad Waseem,Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, Additional Secretary CMSecretariat Shahab Qamar and others, said a statement on Wednesday.
In the meeting, the first project which came under discussion was UrbanManagement Project.
Under this project, the capacity building of Karachi MetropolitanCorporation (KMC) and six District Municipal Corporations (DMCs) would bedeveloped and institutional reforms would also be introduced.
Ways and means would also be explored and implemented for enhancement ofproperty tax in the city.
The CM said that he has already devolved property tax to local bodies butnow they would have to build a mechanism to collect it from theirrespective areas.
Under the Urban Management project institutional reforms would also beintroduced in Karachi Water & Sewerage Board.
Metering and billing system would also be established with majorrestructuring the board. Treatment Plant known as TP-IV of 200 MGD Korangiwould be installed.
The Yellow Line Project was also discussed and the world Bank, in principalagreed to construct the entire infrastructure of BRT Yellow Line startingfrom Dawood Chowrangi to Numaish, would be 21 kilometers long project.
Syed Murad Ali Shah said that it was an important project for this city andit would be a great service to this city.
He said that there were some procurement issues in 12 on-going World Bankprojects in Sindh as these projects are in progress in Irrigation,Agriculture, health, education and nutrition sectors.
Syed Murad Ali Shah said that these 12 projects have 12 different projectdirectors and they all were making procurement on their own but throughdifferent and time consuming approach.
He proposed the World Bank to set up a separate unit under whichprocurement for all the World Bank projects could be made underone-umbrella.
Chairman P&D Mohammad Waseem presented two options for the procurement unitand said the unit could cover only the on-going projects or be given thedomain of only new projects.
The meeting decided that the World Bank officers would hold another meetingwith Chairman P&D to give final shape to the projects so that they could beapproved in the third meeting. – APP