Karachi Safe City Project: CM for complete launch of Phase-I within two months

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, while presiding over a meeting of the Sindh Safe Cities Authority (SSCA), decided to launch Phase-I of the Karachi Safe City (KSC) Project within two months, as the technology installations are complete and trial phases are underway.

The chief minister directed the Sindh Safe City Authority to start preparations for Safe City projects for Hyderabad and Sukkur.

“I want you to submit a comprehensive plan with a timeline so that it can be approved.”

The meeting, held at CM House, was attended by Minister Home Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, CM’s Special Assistant Ali Rashid, MPA Sumeta Afzal, PMA Syed Sarfraz Shah, Humaira Faraz, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Home Secretary Iqbal Memon, IG Police Javed Alam Odho, PSCM Agha Wasif, Chairman P&D Najam Shah, Secretary Excise Saleem Rajput, Secretary Local Govt Rafi Qureshi, Special Secretary Finance Asghar Memon, DG Safe Cities Authorities Sarfraz Nawaz, DG Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Salman Shah. Razi Syed attended the meeting via video link.The chief minister directed the immediate recruitment of expert staff to ensure the multi-billion rupee project becomes operational within the next two months. The meeting served as a critical review of the project’s transition from construction to active surveillance and law enforcement.

Operational readiness: Phase-I of the Karachi Safe City project, which includes the installation of 1,300 cameras across 300 pole sites, 18 Point of Presence (PoP) sites, and 23 Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs), is now in the “acceptance trial phase.”

To prevent “operational paralysis,” the chief minister approved the temporary contractual appointment of 34 specialised technical and administrative experts. This includes Lead Systems Architects, Backend Developers, and Surveillance Officers.

Budget re-appropriation: Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah approved a revised budget of Rs 200 million. While the total envelope remains unchanged, funds were re-allocated to prioritise Human Resources and Transportation / patrolling to meet immediate operational needs.

The SSCA will temporarily operate from the Central Police Office (CPO), where the Inspector General of Police Javed Odho is committed to providing a dedicated floor to maintain close coordination with the existing Command & Control functions.

DG SSCA Sarfraz Nawaz briefed the chief minister that the technical component of the project - including servers, video walls, and fibre optic networks - was completed on schedule as of December 17, 2025. He noted that the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system is currently being refined and will be ready for a live demonstration of Facial Recognition (FR) and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) within two weeks.

“The safety of Karachi is non-negotiable. We are moving from the project phase to a fully functional Authority,” stated Chief Minister Murad Shah. He directed the SSCA to conduct necessity-based hiring.

The chief minister formed a committee to hire technical experts for the project from the open market, strictly based on merit and need.

The chief minister also noted that surveys for Safe City projects in Hyderabad and Sukkur, as well as smart camera installations at provincial entry and exit points, have been completed by the National Radio & Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026