Sindh CM vows to make Centre pay its share for Greater Karachi Sewerage Plan

After S-III project is complete, coastal water would be cleaner, says Murad

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the federal government has backed out of its commitment to share 50% of the total expenditure of the Greater Karachi Sewerage Plan (S-III) which is an injustice with the people of Sindh.

He said that for the interest of the people of Karachi, he would fight to ensure the Centre keeps it commitment.

This he said on Monday while presiding over a meeting regarding completion of S-III project at Chief Minister's House.

Briefing the CM, Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani said that the S-III project was aimed at improving environmental and sanitation conditions of Karachi through a well-integrated system of collection, treatment and disposal of sewage. He added that the existing sewage disposal system lacked treatment facilities and requires conveyance network to divert sewage to the treatment plants which is currently being disposed into the sea.



Planning and Development Chairperson Naheed Shah said that the project was approved by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) for Rs7.98 billion in September 2007 under which the federal government had to share 50% of the cost of the project and the remaining 50% was to be borne by the provincial government.

The scheme was revised and approved by ECNEC at Rs36.11 billion on February 7, 2018. The project has two components which include the Lyari River Basin of Rs21.31 billion and Malir River Basin of Rs14.799 billion.

The scope of the S-III project has been enhanced in the revised version and that's why its cost has increased. The project encompasses the transmission of flowing sewage in Lyari and Malir River Basin through underground RCC conduit and its treatment at the sewage treatment plants, before its ultimate disposal into the sea.

In Malir and Lyari Rivers Basin, along with enhancement and construction of treatment plants, Malir Trunk Sewer, Lyari Trunk Sewer, upgradation and capacity enhancement of sewage treatment plant at Haroonabad SITE from 51 to 100 MGD will also be done. Upgradation and capacity enhancement of sewage treatment plant at Maripur from 54 to 180 MGD and construction of new sewage treatment plant at Korangi of 180 MGD is also included in the plan.

Murad was informed that the rehabilitation of Treatment Plant-III (TP-III) for 77 MGD has been completed. Five different packages of Sewage Transmission are complete for the most part. The contract package of LS-1, LS-2 & LS-III of 13.169km were awarded in March. In case of the contract package of TP-1, 55% of the rehabilitation phase and 12% of stage-II expansion works has been completed.

Malir River Basin

The contract packages of MS-1 to MS-III for sewerage transmission, for an overall length of 14.950km, have been advertised and its bid evaluation reports have been posted on the website of Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority.

The contract packages of MS-4 to MS-6, for sewage transmission of 10.091km, have also been advertised and the bids received have been sent to the procurement committee for evaluation report. The bid for contract package TP-IV on design, build and operate basis has been cancelled and now retendering is being made on construction contract basis.



The CM said that Lyari River Basin, where 77 MGD was being treated, should be treated further and provided to SITE for industrial purposes. He also directed Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah to talk to the Public Private Partnership Unit and work out a plan to invite private partners for tertiary treatment of effluent for industrial consumption.

Murad said that with the completion of S-III, there would be clean coastal water which would improve the overall health and hygiene conditions and thus boost fishery exports. It would also help in conservation of marine ecology.

The meeting was attended by Finance Secretary Najam Shah, Local Government Secretary Khalid Hyder Shah, Planning and Development Member Services Khalid Mahmood, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) acting Managing Director Ghulam Qadir, Hanif Baloch PD S-III and other related officers.

Excise meeting

While presiding over another meeting, Murad directed the excise and taxation department to introduce readable digital cards in place of vehicles registration books.

He said that the registration books of vehicles have become obsolete around the world. "We should take the benefits that modern technology offers and introduce readable cards on the pattern of banks so that their details can be read during checking," he said.

Excise Minister Mukesh Chawla told the CM that the excise and taxation department was given a recovery target of Rs72,872 million which they would achieve by the end of this month.

The department collects seven taxes, including motor vehicle tax, excise enactment, infrastructure cess, cotton fee, professional tax, property tax and entertainment duty.

The meeting was attended by Excise Secretary Raheem Shaikh, Finance Secretary Najam Shah, Narcotics Director-General (DG) Shoaib Siddiqui, Excise DG Shabir Shaikh and others.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2019.