Karachi: The Sindh government has teamed up with the World Bank and launched a USD 240 million mega project – named ‘Competitive and Liveable City of Karachi’ (CLICK) – to bring infrastructural reforms to the city; with a primary focus on improving the performance of the local government delivery system, according to news sources.
The project’s launching ceremony was held on Friday at the Peoples Hall of the New Sindh Secretariat. As per reports, it is estimated to be completed within a period of six years.
The Sindh government will contribute
USD 10 million to the project’s development as part of its annual development
programme, while the WB, under its Investment Projecting Financing (IPF)
initiative, will provide USD 230 million to the provincial government in the
form of a loan.
The Sindh government, as such, has recruited the WB’s services to improve the operational performance of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), district municipal bodies (DMCs) and the District Council Karachi.
Local
Government Minister Nasir Shah said that the project encompasses three key functional
concerns:
Enhancing the capacity of
the city’s local councils, arranged under the ambit of the local government,
for executing infrastructural – against a budget of USD 181.86 million.
Improving the urban real
estate tax system through the excise and taxation department – against a budget
of USD 40.4 million.
Improving the functioning
of the Sindh Investment Portal through the investment department – against a
budget of USD 17.2 million.
CLICK, further, will seek to establish a public-private-partnership mode of projects execution overseen by the Local Government, along with providing technical assistance to the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board.
Minister
Shah, commenting on the breakthrough, expressed hope that the project will deliver
‘scientific insights’ to manage the ever-increasing number of shanty settlements and improve sewerage infrastructure in
Karachi.
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