Combined effluent treatment plants to be set up in Karachi

The sixth meeting of the coordination committee comprising Sindh and federal government authorities met at the Chief Minister House on Sunday and took important decisions, including the setting up of combined effluent treatment plants (CETPs) through public-private partnership.

Other decisions included the augmentation of the Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme K-IV to be carried out by the provincial government, the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and other agencies issuing no-objection certificates (NOCs) for the Mauripur Expressway and ICI Interchange project.

The meeting also discussed the Sindh Rangers vacating the Malir Halt and Mosamiat bus depots for the launching of the Red Line bus rapid transit system (BRTS) in Karachi.

Storm water drains

Giving an update on the PC-I of the development scheme to rehabilitate 25 Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) storm water drains, Local Government Secretary Najam Shah told the meeting that a comprehensive study on 41 KMC drains was carried out by the NED University of Engineering & Technology.

However, he said, only 25 KMC drains were considered critical and which required immediate rehabilitation. CM Syed Murad Ali Shah said that it was a Rs2 billion project, for which Rs1 billion had already been allocated. The PC-I of the project has been prepared and sent to the planning & development (P&D) department for approval.

K-IV project

During deliberations, it was observed that the K-IV project had serious issues, so in order to address them, it was decided to develop better coordination between the provincial government and the Centre for the execution of both conveyance systems and the augmentation of the K-IV project.

The meeting was told that the revised PC-I of the project would be placed before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec). The CM said that as far as the installation of the 50MW power plant was concerned, he would discuss this component of the K-IV project with his team.

However, the meeting decided to direct all the federal government agencies to issue NOCs for the augmentation project of K-IV to be executed by the provincial government.

Compensation issue

Karachi Commissioner Iqbal Memon said the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has released Rs1.32 billion as compensation for the resettlement of the people who had to vacate their homes in the city due to the anti-encroachment operation.

The NDMA informed the Karachi Division’s administration that they had released more amount. The commissioner claimed Rs518.713 million in excess expenditures had been incurred on hiring machineries for the operation.

The meeting decided that the city commissioner and NDMA officials would sit together to reconcile the expenditures and settle the payment issue within a week.

Waste management

The CM said that under the new LG law, the Karachi mayor has been made chairman of thecity’s solid waste management board to be established so that proper cleaning of the metropolis can be ensured.

Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) Managing Director Zubair Channa briefed the meeting about the initiatives taken to remove garbage from the city. He said the cleaning of all the city’s districts, except District Central, has been outsourced to well-reputed foreign firms.

He said that the process of handing over the cleaning of District Central is in process. It was also decided that the matter of regulating the disposal of garbage generated in the jurisdictions of the cantonment boards and the clearance of the SSWMB’s outstanding dues would be resolved.

Treatment plants

The meeting was told that the industries department was the sponsoring agency of the project for the establishment of five CETPs for Rs11.799 billion, with 33 per cent share of the Centre and 67 per cent share of the provincial government.

The project was approved by Ecnec and the administrative approval of the project was accorded on March 12, 2018. The cost estimates of the components of the CETP-2 and the CETP-4 with interceptors have exceeded the estimates of the different components in the revised PC-I.

The CETP-1, the CETP-2 and the CETP-4 have been included in the phase-I of the project because these have no land issues and the buildings of the treatment plants or the pumping stations can be initiated without any impediments. The revised PC-I of Rs18.143 billion is in the approval process.

In a meeting of the Sindh P&D Board, it had been decided to execute this project through public-private partnership. Therefore, the coordination committee decided to prepare a proper presentation for executing the project through public-private partnership.

Red Line BRTS

The Red Line BRTS project is being implemented with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other co-financiers. The ADB Board had approved a loan of $235 million for the Red Line BRTS project in July 2019.

Accordingly, the PC-I of the project was cleared by the Central Development Working Party and approved by Ecnec for Rs78.384 billion. Subsequently, the loan signing took place on June 18, 2020 and became effective from October 6, 2020. TransKarachi, a Section 42 company owned 100 per cent by the Sindh government, is executing the project.

The issue of the Rangers vacating the Malir Halt and Mosamiat bus depots was also brought up. Karachi Corps Commander Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed told the meeting that the paramilitary force would vacate the bus depots when the Sindh Transport Department would start working on the Red Line BRTS project.

The provincial government urged federal ministers to direct the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to allot 12 to 14 acres out of the identified 52 acres of land parcel in the CAA’s possession for the immediate relocation of the Rangers to avoid penalties anticipated due to the occupation of the depots. Federal P&D Minister Asad Umer assured the CM that the matter would be solved through his office.

NOCs for road project

The meeting was told to decide land-related issues and NOCs pertaining to the KPT, the National Highway Authority (NHA), the Pakistan Railways, the Pakistan Navy and other authorities for building the Mauripur Expressway and ICI Interchange project.

The meeting was told that the request for proposal had been issued in June 2021, and the technical bids had been opened in September 2021 for the Mauripur Expressway and ICI Interchange project.

However, certain issues are impeding free access to the site of the project at different locations, such as the elevated U-turn, the interchange at the Lyari Bridge, the Marine Academy Flyover, the Salt Field Area, the Kakapir Road widening and flyover, and the ICI Flyover ramp.

The coordination committee directed the PN, the KPT, the PR and the NHA to issue NOCs so that work on the project could be started.

The meeting was also attended by Federal Information Technology Minister Syed Aminul Haque, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah, provincial ministers Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Saeed Ghani, Karachi Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Federal P&D Secretary Aziz Uqaili, Sindh P&D Board Chairman Hassan Naqvi, Transport Secretary Shariq Ahmed, Karachi Water & Sewerage Board MD Asadullah Khan and Metropolitan Commissioner Afzal Zaidi.