PM Imran Khan says Centre, Sindh govt must work together for Karachi’s development
KARACHI ( Web News )
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday performed the groundbreaking of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project during a ceremony held at the Cantonment Railway Station in the metropolis.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Railways Minister Senator Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, the Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah, and Governor of Sindh Imran Ismail were also in attendance.
The premier started his address by talking about the importance of Karachi, saying that the city, despite holding immense significance, had unfortunately faced a decline due to several problems in the past. As a result, the whole country was affected.
“We initiated the Karachi Transformation Plan, in collaboration with the Sindh government, to uplift the metropolis,” the premier said, adding that in order to resolve the issues faced by Karachi, both the Centre and the provincial government will have to work together.
“The federal government cannot resolve the issues of Karachi on its own, therefore, it is imperative for the provincial government to cooperate.”
The premier said that big projects, like the KCR, often get stuck which incurs more cost. Therefore, governments have to employ additional efforts for such projects.
“Since the KCR is a big project, the Sindh and the federal governments will have to push harder for its timely completion so that it could turn out to be a cost-effective project,” the premier said.
He said water shortage is a big challenge of Karachi and K-4 project will help resolve this issue. Imran Khan said Karachi is economic hub of the country and we have to design more projects for the city to cope with growing population and transport issues.
In line with the vision of the federal government to modernize the public transport in Karachi, the circular railway is not only being rehabilitated but also being expanded and modernized.
The thirty stations of modern circular railway will link residential, industrial and office areas. This will not only reduce the flow of traffic in Karachi but also facilitate the passengers.
According to the spokesperson of Pakistan Railways, the track of KCR will be built without crossings on which trains would run at the speed of 80 kilometer per hour while each train would have the capacity of 814 passengers.