Karachi: As the controversy lingers as who contributes more to the newly unveiled historical Rs 1,100 billion development package for Karachi, the Sindh Government has reminded the federal government that the long-delayed Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project is a part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Islamabad should not count it as a federally funded scheme for the provincial capital.
The long-delayed KCR project being the commuter rail service will meet massive public transportation needs of Karachi, which still lacks any mass transit system for its 20 million residents causing them serious hardships.
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Both the federal and Sindh governments’ authorities have indulged in a controversy making claims and counterclaims about share of the province and Islamabad in the Karachi’s new development package. Federal Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar asserted that the federal government would contribute 62 per cent funding to the new Karachi package as rest 38 per cent finances would be arranged by the Sindh government.
Both Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the spokesman for Sindh government of PPP Barrister Murtaza Wahab claimed that contribution of provincial government to the new Karachi package was Rs 800 billion.
Barrister Wahab said that federal government had unduly claimed ownership of the KCR to prove its claim that it had greater share in the new Karachi development package.
Hard work
He said that federal authorities had erroneously counted the KCR among the federally funded development projects for the city. The fact, however, is that the KCR became a part of the CPEC on the request of the Sindh CM in 2016, he said.
He said the Sindh government had done much hard work to materialize the KCR after its inclusion in the CPEC.
The Sindh Government separately issued a statement in this regard that states: “Revival of Karachi Circular Railway is a flagship project of the Sindh Government, which was included in the CPEC framework on December29, 2016 in the 6th Joint Coordination Committee meeting held in Beijing, China on the request of Sindh CM”.
“The PC-I of KCR was approved by ECNEC (Executive Committee of National Economic Council) on October6, 2017 at a total cost of $1.971 Billion (Pak Rs. 207.6 Billion). Moreover, the Transport and Mass Transit Department, Government of Sindh was declared as the sponsoring as well as the executing agency for the approved project,” said the statement.
“The project has been stalled due to lack of interest of the federal government to fulfil its responsibilities towards the project. The Sindh Government has been repeatedly asking the federal government to lend its support for this project and the CM has written several letters in this regard. The support needed from the federal government is provision of a sovereign guarantee (as was done for the Lahore Orange Train project), transfer of Karachi Urban Transport Corporation to the provincial government, right of way for the project and facilitation with regard to CPEC issues. The Government of Pakistan in December 2016 had agreed to provide this support,” it included.
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