KARACHI: The Sindh government has planned to launch an ambitious development plan costing $358.83 million with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) pertaining to different projects of economic progress, improvement in school education system, roads’ development and Karachi BRT Red Line to improve urban transport system besides initiating a bus fleet consisting of 217 vehicles at a cost of Rs562.3 million, from next financial year.

In this connection Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had a detailed meeting with an ADB delegation led by its director general Werner E. Liepach.

The participants in the meeting agreed to launch the projects after completion of necessary documentation, including strengthening a public-private partnership unit.

ADB country director Xiaohong Yang, financial sector specialist Sana Masood and executive director Shahid Mehmood, were part of the delegation.

The Sindh chief minister said he wanted to start the BRT project from next financial year.

The ADB has provided a project development assistance of $9.7m to improve urban transport system (UTS) of Karachi.

The ADB is providing technical and financial support for the Red Line BRT.

The chief minister and ADB DG also discussed Sindh Secondary Edu­cation Improvement Project ($165m).

The project would support Sindh school education system.

The Provincial Development Working Party had cleared the project last year and 105 schools have been selected. Its phase-I would be launched from next financial year.

The chief minister along with his team also discussed Rs41,200m 847km long Sindh provincial roads, phase-II project.

Under this project 19 roads will be reconstructed.

The infrastructure and social service needs of Sindh exceed the provincial public resources available, it was stated.

To address the significant infrastructure requirements in an efficient, cost-effective manner and to enable further private participation in delivering infrastructure service, the Sindh government sought ADB assistance to expand and improve public private partnerships (PPPs) in Sindh. The project is estimated at $184.13m where ADB and Sindh government would share 35 per cent cost of the project. Under the project overall PPPs unit would be strengthened.

Meeting with Sindh Madressah Board

CM Shah has said that Sindh Madressah Board (SM Board), established in 1885 by Khan Bahadur Hassanally Effendi, is one of the oldest and prestigious boards, which has worked hard for promotion of quality education, particularly in the backward and rural areas of Karachi.

The chief minister said this while talking to a delegation of the SM Board here on Tuesday.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2019