Karachi: The country head of World Bank Patchamuthu Illangovan along with an 11 member delegation met with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and discussed the future development projects for Sindh. Projects worth $10 Billion were considered during the meeting.
Provincial ministers Saeed Ghani, Ismail Rahu, Syed Sardar Shah, Imtiaz Shaikh, Adviser to CM on law Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah and concerned provincial secretaries attended the high powered meeting.
The Major Projects under Consideration were Karachi neighborhood improvement project, Karachi Urban Management project, Karachi Urban Mobility (KUM), and Karachi Water and Sewerage. A number of smaller projects were also discussed
Karachi neighborhood improvement project is worth $86 million and the provincial government has to put in $14 million to start the project. The Remaining three projects had not been started pending some provincial level approvals.
The World Bank has proposed $200 million for Karachi Urban Management Project. This project will provide performance-linked block grants to six DMCs and KMC for local level infrastructure and municipal services. A capital development grant was proposed for KMC for flood management and rehabilitation of urban drainage infrastructure
Further The World Bank proposed $400 million for Karachi Urban Mobility. The project is aimed at improving urban mobility, accessibility and road safety in Karachi. The World Bank would construct Yellow Line corridor, including development of infrastructure rehabilitation and BRTs construction system under the project.
The World Bank has proposed $1.6 billion for Karachi Water and Sewerage. Under this project safe and reliable sewerage service will be provided and private sector will be encouraged to install waste treatment plants
The World Bank has proposed $400 million for the SHC program which aims to provide health, nutrition, population, education and social protection services and to invest in human capital in targeted areas.
Sindh Water & Agriculture Transformation & Climate Resilience will also be jointly funded by the World Bank and govt. $300 million would be provided by WB while the remaining $150 million would be provided by the government.
The government also plans to revitalize the fisheries sector which has been neglected up till now. Rs150 will be provided by the World bank for Transformation and Revitalization of the Fisheries Sectors (TRFS)
The World Bank has proposed $400 million for Sindh Jobs and Competitiveness (SJ&C) project aimed at improving business environment and cultivation of employment opportunities for the youth of the province. The World Bank Pakistan Chief Patchamuthu Illangovan told the meeting that his bank was ready to further enhance and strengthen their partnership with the Sindh Government.
