Karachi revitalisation drive aims to remake Pakistan’s largest city

KARACHI: At a historic market commissioned by Queen Victoria in Pakistan's southern metropolis of Karachi, third-generation spice seller Mohammad Shakeel Abbasi complains that a move to clear illegal encroachments has left poor shopkeepers jobless.

“My own business has been cut in half,” said Abbasi of the modernisation drive ordered by the country's Supreme Court in January to clean-up large swathes of the city's historic centre, which he says has driven away so many vendors that fewer people now visit the area.

“We need these changes for the country to move forward but it needs to be done properly,” he said, surrounded by barrels of mango pickle, chilli powder and turmeric at the stall his grandfather built more than 80 years ago.

The modernisation of Karachi's old downtown is one of a string of projects aimed at revitalising Pakistan's largest city and economic powerhouse, which has long been plagued by traffic congestion, water and electricity shortages and rampant crime.

But experts say the politicking by local parties and wrangling between different levels of government that have stalled Karachi's growth for decades continue to hold back development.

Public transit programmes, including a shiny new bus service and the revival of a longclosed inner city rail service, are among the projects stuck in the gridlock.

Both transport schemes have been held up awaiting authorization from Islamabad to invite bids to supply new buses and begin laying railways tracks, according to Sindh province's Transport Minister Awais Qadir Shah.

Muhammad Sualeh Faruqui, chief executive officer (CEO) of the federal development corporation in charge of the bus project that is expected to move 250,000 commuters daily, said an agreement between the provincial and federal government should be finalised soon.

But no movement has been made on the bus or rail projects since Reuters spoke to Faruqui in January.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the allocation of 162 billion rupees (US$1.15 billion) for Karachi's development, to be primarily spent on transport and sewage projects.

“We need to make a master plan for Karachi and define the limits of the city and whether it will expand beyond its current area,” Khan said.

In the 1960s, Karachi boasted the tallest building in South Asia, an operational inner-city rail service, vibrant nightlife, and booming tourism.

But more than 50 years later, the city's infrastructure has failed to keep pace with a population that has sky-rocketed more than 300 per cent, leaving many public services such as health, transport, and water either provided by an informal private sector or controlled by organised crime. — Reuters