Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday expressed serious concern over the environmental hazards in Karachi and its ports. Photo: File

 

KARACHI: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday expressed serious concern over the environmental hazards in Karachi and its ports.

The PM, in a meeting on development projects at the Governor House in Karachi, directed the concerned authorities to address the issue on a fast-track basis.

?A formal proposal must be submitted to resolve this issue immediately,? Abbasi said.

The attendees of the high-level meeting, including Governor Sindh Mohammad Zubair and Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar, were briefed about the Federal-government funded ongoing development projects as well as critical infrastructure projects required in Karachi, especially freight movement from the ports to up-country.

The PM was briefed about the work on Layari Expressway, ninety-seven percent of which is complete. The Expressway?s north-bound section will be operational by the end of 2017, officials of the Sindh government informed the prime minister.

Officials were informed that the first phase of K-4 will be operative next year. Abbasi stressed on the need for all stakeholders to collaborate to simultaneously execute the remaining phases of the project.

?The federal government has provided funding for the project; the remaining bottlenecks should be removed through coordination,? the prime minister said.

The Green Line BRT ?a fully federally funded project ? will be operative by the end of the current financial year, the meeting was informed.

Abbasi asked the stakeholders on local, provincial, and federal levels to jointly resolve coordination issues on the critical transport infrastructure projects for Karachi.

?A proper development and strategy plan must be evolved wherein local, federal and provincial governments sit in to move ahead,? the prime minister stated.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Ports and Shipping Mir Hasil Bizenjo, Minister of State for Ports Chaudhry Jafar Iqbal, Chief Secretary Sindh, Chairman KPT, Chairman Port Qasim Authority, and other senior government officials.