Karachi Arts Council. PHOTO: http://artscouncil.org.pk/
The launching ceremony for KNIP was held at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi and was attended by Home Secretary and KNIP Project Director Qazi Kabir, the president of Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, the team of KNIP, senior officers of the Sindh government, representatives of the World Bank (WB), artists and citizens of Karachi.
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The project aims to enhance public spaces and roads’ infrastructure, as well as facilitate the public’s access to markets in targeted areas such as Saddar, Malir and Korangi, said the chief minister. According to Shah, the project, launched under the planning and development department, comprises three components, which relate to the improvement of mobility and access to public spaces in selected neighbourhoods, improving the city’s capacity to provide better administrative services, and garnering support and technical assistance for the implementation of the project.
Educational, cultural zone in Saddar
The chief minister said that an ‘educational and cultural zone’ is being established in Saddar. The area falling under the triangular boundary formed by Din Muhammad Wafai Road and Stratchan Road, Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road and MR Kayani Road has been selected as the sub-project area in phase-I of the project, said Shah, adding that the approximate length of the sub-project roads is 2.5 kilometres. “A parking plaza near the National Museum has also been built to tackle the challenges of parking in one of the most crowded areas of the city,” said Shah.
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‘Transforming Karachi’
Shah said that the World Bank carried out a ‘Karachi City Diagnostic’ at the request of the Sindh government so that a strategy could be formed for the transformation of Karachi through long-term and short-term projects. “The Karachi City Diagnostic provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities in the metropolis. It estimates the level of investment needed to bridge infrastructural gaps and improve the region’s economic potential,” said Shah.
The Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi has also been renovated under this project, said Shah, adding that not only had the space been expanded to cater to bigger audiences but the cafeteria and event space has also been improved with lights and landscaping elements such as a green belt and a fountain.
According to Shah, a semi-covered, indoor event space for 100 persons has been established in the north and south courtyards and a similar space for exhibitions on the ground floor of Manzar Hall has also been enhanced with two fountains, seating arrangement, and landscape features.
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Including stakeholders
The chief minister said that the project is based on a participatory approach which is to say that it incorporates the interests of those who will benefit from the project and the local community in the designated areas of the project. He said that the KNIP team consulted with various stakeholders through workshops and meetings.
For the renovation of the Arts Council building in Karachi, around 162,000 persons were counted as project beneficiaries. These persons included casual visitors, artists and participants of various events held there. Male and female ratios of these beneficiaries was also calculated at 60 and 40 per cent respectively, said Shah. A project beneficiary survey was also taken within the area where civil works are being carried out under KNIP and the response from the community has been positive so far, he added.
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The intervention carried out in Arts Council is not going to end here but will continue in phase-II, during which an open-air theatre will be constructed, he said.
Construction permits
The chief minister announced that another component of the KNIP was the ‘single window facility’ for the Sindh Building Control Authority to facilitate the issuance of construction permits under one roof. “The time required for construction permits has been reduced from 45 days to 15 days,” he said, adding that the country’s ranking on the Ease of Doing Business Index had also improved. He credited the country’s improved rank to the Sindh Building Control Authority, which accounts for 60 per cent of the process of issuing construction permits, according to him.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2019.
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