Karachi mayor halts Rs30b Green Line project

Project hits snag due to a tussle between KMC and PIDCL over NOC

KARACHI:

To the utter dismay of Karachittes, work on the Green Line Phase-II corridor project—stretching from Guru Mandir to Municipal Park—has been halted due to a dispute between the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company Limited (PIDCL), a federal government entity.

The disagreement led Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab to order the suspension of ongoing development work, citing procedural violations.

KMC stopped the federally funded project, valued at Rs30 billion, on the grounds that PIDCL had not obtained a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the municipal authorities before commencing construction.

The project, a key infrastructure initiative under the federal government’s Karachi development plan, is considered critical to easing urban mobility in the city.

However, PIDCL officials strongly contested KMC's action, stating that the required NOC had already been secured prior to the commencement of the project. They argued that halting a federally sanctioned project without written notice and on the basis of verbal orders was unacceptable and counterproductive.

According to PIDCL, if the mayor or KMC had any reservations, they should have formally communicated through a letter requesting the NOC, which the agency would have readily provided.

PIDCL further claimed to be in possession of an NOC issued on October 12, 2017, bearing the signature of the Superintendent Engineer of KMC’s Engineering Department (I&QC).

The agency expressed strong dissatisfaction over the suspension of work on what it described as a multi-billion-rupee development initiative critical to the city's progress.

Meanwhile, KMC officials maintained that no valid NOC had been issued for the second phase of the Green Line project, and the decision to halt construction was taken on the explicit instructions of Wahab.

The matter has reportedly escalated to a point where a meeting is expected between Mayor Wahab and senior PIDCL officials, including CEO Waseem Bajwa and General Manager Shafi Chhachhar, to resolve the impasse.

Following KMC’s intervention, the contractor at the site has ceased operations and withdrawn staff and equipment until further notice.