KARACHI: The Sindh government has inaugurated the Fishermen Chowrangi, formerly the Old Coastguards roundabout, in Korangi area of Karachi, the second such initiative after the People’s Square.
PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was the chief guest on the occasion of 4.9 km road from Fisherman Chowrangi to Ibrahim Hyderi. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, provincial ministers Saeed Ghani, Nasir Shah, Commissioner Karachi Naveed Shaikh, Administrator KMC Laiq Ahmed, Project Director Asghar Memon and other party leaders and workers attended the event.
Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that this dual-road carriageway from Fishermen Chowrangi to Ibrahim Hyderi was selected due to its highly dilapidated condition full of garbage and water was drained on the road.
He said eight-metre-wide road connecting to Ibrahim Hyderi passed through a flat segment while a 526-metre stretch was hilly and impassable by vehicles. Another stretch of 1.3 kilometres to access the village was also unfit for vehicle movement specially loaded trucks originating from the fishing village. The project started on 25th July 2019.
CM Sindh said that the fishermen area was selected due to dense and vulnerable populations where Ibrahim Hyderi was located which has a population of around 400,000 comprising low to middle-income people having small houses and apartments with narrow streets. He said the rains had destroyed the road and the condition of water supply, sewerage, and stormwater infrastructure was incapable of serving the area and maintain the road condition.
Talking about Karachi Neighborhood Improvement Project (KNIP), chief minister said that a rapid assessment was conducted by the World Bank in 2014 called Karachi City Diagnostic (KCD) to identify gaps in various municipal and other services in the city.
According to the findings of the study, including the quality of its public spaces in urban areas of Karachi has been declining along with infrastructure provision. He said the roads in Karachi lack basic safety features and are not regularly maintained which reduce accessibility and mobility, particularly for women, elderly, and people with disabilities.
The chief minister said that the KCD estimated that at least $10 billion would be needed in the next decade to close the infrastructure gaps and transform Karachi into a livable city. Therefore, he said the KNIP was established to focus on fast, low-cost and high impact interventions to respond to emergent city needs.
He said the four-year project started in 2017 by the Sindh government with the support of World Bank at a cost of $98 million in which the financial institution provided $86 million.
Under the project, three neighborhoods, Saddar, Malir and Korangi of the city were being upgraded. He said the People’s Square has been inaugurated in Saddar while the one in Malir is being made ready for inauguration.
The existing roundabout has been developed as public space, dual-road, linear park and streets while intersection design, street lights, bus stops have also been constructed. A well-designed single carriageway has been constructed by making the slopes gentle for the vehicles to access Ibrahim Hyderi.
A tree protection and management plan has also been prepared to protect trees over 220 trees have been protected. The well-designed public spaces will provide a conducive environment for social interaction not only to the residents but also visitors, the chief minister said. He added that gender integration is a compulsory element in KNIP initiatives through a Gender Action plan (GAP) to increase women’s participation.
