The prime minister recently instructed all ministers and institutions to improve their performance in the next two years before the general elections. The PTI government now seems to focus on expediting development projects in Karachi to live up to its promises.
The prime minister has inaugurated the groundbreaking of the dormant Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project. Successive governments have failed to revive the mass transit project and railway tracks have been gradually encroached. If the government is successful, it will be a huge boost for PTI and will also help reduce the transportation woes facing the city since several years.
As the prime minister rightly stated, the federal and provincial governments will have to work together for Karachi’s development to resolve the issues. Both have traded barbs in the past and blamed each other for the worsening situation in the city. However, it will be in the interest of both sides and more importantly the residents of the city if they would set their differences aside.
The government is also set to inaugurate the long-stalled Green Line metro bus project in the coming months. The buses for the project recently arrived from Karachi and the prime minister is expected to inaugurate the project. However, the Orange Line project, launched by the provincial government, remains in a limbo for over five years and is nowhere near completion. It is essential that all delayed and incomplete projects are completed to modernize transportation in the city.
The multi-billion Karachi Comprehensive Coastal Development Zone (KCCDZ), which seeks to develop the coastal areas, has also been included in CPEC projects. The prime minister termed it a ‘game changer’ which will place Karachi among the top port cities in the world with modern urban infrastructure, despite reservations by environmentalists of harming the marine ecosystem.
The PTI won a heavy mandate in the general elections from Karachi and will seek to retain it in the next polls. Therefore, it is making all efforts to fulfill its promises and improve its performance in the next two years. It is necessary that these projects should be implemented so they can serve the residents of the metropolis and resolve the most chronic problems.
