City's development goals remain unfulfilled

As 2025 nears its ends, Karachi's incomplete infrastructure and delayed projects continue to harm public health. In the shadows of hollow promises, broken roads, blocked sewers, and rising pollution have led to a surge in respiratory illnesses particularly affecting vulnerable groups.

During the past year, glaring gaps between claims and ground reality were observed in the infrastructure development sector. The Sindh government failed to complete several important projects even in 2025. One major project was the construction of the Bhutto Highway from Qayyumabad to the M-9 Motorway in Karachi.

According to the Sindh government's announcement, this project was to be completed by December 2025, but work could not be finished within the stipulated time. In a meeting held in the last week of November, the Chief Minister of Sindh was informed that the highway had been opened from Qayyumabad to Qaidabad, while barely 65 per cent of the work up to the M-9 Motorway had been completed.

Similarly, the Sindh government has been working for several years on a land record digitization project but work could not be completed even in 2025. In January 2024, the Board of Revenue informed the then caretaker government that the revenue record of rights would be digitized within the next six months and linked with the e-registration and e-mutation systems.

The Board of Revenue also assured that the city survey record of the entire province would be digitized within six months. However, even in 2025, this project could not be completed. Concurrently, even after nearly 40 years, the Sindh government has failed to carry out development work in one of Karachi's major housing projects, Hawksbay Scheme 42, and the same situation persisted in 2025. This project was launched in 1984 and covers 6,000 acres, with plots allotted to more than 75,000 people.

However, due to the lack of development work, including electricity and water supply, most people have still been unable to construct their homes. The Lyari Development Authority, responsible for implementing the project, announced in 2025 that it was issuing leases to plot holders, but even as the year comes to an end, this promise could not be fulfilled.

Regional planner, Dr Syed Nawaz-ul-Huda opined that the unbalanced approach of the federal and Sindh governments regarding the ongoing mega projects in Karachi has been continuing for a long time. "Projects related to water, sewerage, and mass transit were announced two decades ago, but their construction work started late, and now bureaucratic obstacles are being created in their completion as well. In principle, all these projects should be under the supervision of local government institutions, which are directly accountable to the public," said Dr Al-Huda.

Apart from fueling public grievances, sluggish development work has also instigated a rise in health ailments. Head of the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Department at Jinnah Hospital, Professor Dr Abdul Razzaq Dogar stated that incomplete development projects instigated dust, which worsened air pollution in Karachi, causing a 30 to 35 rise in flu, allergies, and other respiratory diseases.

"Incomplete development projects, broken roads, and poorly maintained sewer systems are a major cause of respiratory issues, affecting 90 per cent of the city. Blocked sewer lines and polluted surroundings allow germs to enter homes, seriously impacting children and making healthy living conditions difficult in Karachi," said Dr Dogar.

Medical Superintendent of the Civil Hospital, Dr Khalid Bukhari, confirmed that due to dust in Karachi, the number of patients had increased. "Due to the growing influx of patients, the demand for oxygen in the hospital has also risen. Incomplete city infrastructure and weather conditions are affecting even healthy individuals. When oxygen levels in the body drop, oxygen has to be administered to maintain adequate levels," explained Dr Bukhari.