Home minister launches Safe City project

Home Minister, Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, has announced launch of the Karachi Safe City (KSC) project, aimed at making the metropolis one of the safest cities in the country.

The project, worth over Rs3 billion, will be completed in two phases, with the first phase expected to be completed within 12 months.

Lanjar stated that the project will not only reduce crime rate but also help eliminate criminal elements. He added that second phase of the project will focus on expanding its scope to other cities in Sindh, after its successful implementation in Karachi.

He expressed satisfaction over performance of police and acknowledged that while there is still room for improvement, the situation has improved significantly compared to the past.

After full-fledged execution of the first phase, the police will be able to reduce 50% of crimes in the entire port city. The KSC project is a far more modern, bigger project than both Islamabad Safe City and Lahore Safe City projects.

The Sindh government took almost eight years to adopt it as Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah approved funding of around Rs5.6 billion in February to launch first phase of the project in the red zone and airport corridor on a government-to-government basis between the Sindh Police and the National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) under the Ministry of Defence Production.

Sindh Safe Cities Authority (SSCA) Director General Asif Aijaz Shaikh and NRTC Managing Director Brigadier Asim Ishaque signed the agreement.

For better fund management, the project has been divided into five phases and it will be executed on a turnkey basis. Each phase is not dependent on any other phase. Phase-wise details cover respective districts.

The KSC project is aimed at installing 12,000 cameras in all five phases across 2,400 sites. This extensive surveillance network will generate vast amounts of data, facilitating quick analysis and enhancing the efficiency of law enforcement operations.

The project's digital forensics component will further aid in the investigation and analysis of incidents while establishing a robust crime prevention system.

The project will deploy FR and ANPR to identify individuals and vehicles, aiding in crime prevention; tap ITS to monitor and manage traffic, reducing congestion and violations; leverage digital surveillance to enable predictive policing, helping law enforcement to preempt and address potential threats.

SSCA Director General Asif Aijaz Shaikh had earlier told The Express Tribune that the authority will initially have around 1,000 staff, 110 vehicles, 200 motorbikes and six drones. A plot spread over 5,000 square yards has been allocated for the SSCA complex on Sharea Faisal near Saddar police station, where nine floors with a two-floor basement will be constructed within two years.

Three floors - second, third and fourth - have been selected for installing the largest screen of 50 by 80 feet in the country, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2024.