Islamabad: The federal government has commenced 44 major development projects in Karachi, at a tentative cost of PKR 119 billion, a news source reported. Out of the 44 projects, 38 have already been approved, while the remaining six projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) are yet to be ratified before their execution can begin.
The expenses incurred by the 44 development schemes were PKR 52 billion till the end of the last fiscal year on June 30, 2019. Earlier in the current fiscal year, the PTI Government allocated PKR 12 billion for ongoing projects and PKR 9 billion for new development projects, which makes a total of PKR 21 billion. However, the Ministry of Planning and Development released only PKR 9 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year in Karachi. The ministry concerned has referenced the unapproved projects as the main reason behind the allocation of less than 50% of the remaining estimated expenditures.
Some of the projects, such as Greater Karachi Water Supply Scheme (K-IV), are supervised by the federal government, but their costs are shared by the Sindh government with a 50:50 ratio. Besides, the cost of the K-IV project has been raised to PKR 25.5 billion, and could escalate further as new schemes might be added to the same project.
