Major Sindh development projects: Senate body flags delays, cost overruns
KARACHI: The Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives has expressed concern over delays, cost escalations and lack of coordination between federal and provincial authorities on major infrastructure projects in Sindh, including ML-1, K-4 and motorway schemes.
Chaired by Senator Qurat-ul-Ain Marri, the meeting held here was attended by Senator Jam Saifullah Khan Dharejo, Senator Atta-ur-Rehman, Senator Dost Ali Jaiser, Senator Zameer Hussain Ghumro and Senator Ashraf Ali Jatoi. Senator Sadia Abbasi joined online, an official statement issued on Thursday.
The committee was briefed on ongoing Public Sector Development Programme projects for 2025–26, including the Karachi water supply K-4 project, Sukkur–Hyderabad–Karachi Motorway (M-6), New Karachi–Hyderabad Motorway (M-10) and the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project.
Taking strong exception to the exclusion of the Sindh government from the approval process of the Thar Coal Rail Connectivity project, Senator Qurat-ul-Ain Marri questioned why the province was not taken into confidence despite being a partner in the project.
She asked whether anyone had been held accountable for preparing and approving the PC-I without Sindh’s involvement?
She tasked Senator Jam Saifullah Khan Dharejo with identifying those responsible for increasing the project cost from Rs53 billion to Rs90 billion and for bypassing the provincial government.
Senator Jam Saifullah Khan reminded the Railways Secretary that a memorandum of understanding existed between the federal and Sindh governments on the Thar Coal project and warned that providing inaccurate information to the Senate committee amounted to disrespect.
He directed the ministry to submit a comprehensive and accurate report within a month.
Briefing the committee, the Railways Secretary said the ML-1 project had faced delays since 2015 due to various factors. The financial assistance was expected from the Asian Development Bank, after which the foundation stone of the Karachi–Rohri section would be laid next year.
Sindh Planning and Development Board Chairman Najam Shah informed the committee that multiple applications seeking no-objection certificates (NOCs) for overhead bridges and railway crossings were pending with Pakistan Railways.
The committee directed the Railways Secretary to issue all pending NOCs and submit a compliance report within one month.
Responding to a query by Senator Sadia Abbasi regarding the Karachi Green Line and Thar Coal Railway projects, CEO of PIDCL Wasim Bajwa said work on the Green Line BRT was in progress under the common corridor project.
He said Rs 3 billion allocated for the current year had already been utilized, adding that the project would be completed by October 31 next year.
The committee also took notice of the absence of the Secretary Communications, with Senator Marri expressing displeasure over repeated non-attendance. She said the official would be summoned, rather than invited, to future meetings.
An official from the Communications Department informed the committee that tenders for the M-6 motorway had been invited and that the project comprised five sections, two of which were expected to be completed by June 2026.
Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro complained that following the dissolution of the Pakistan Works Department, Sindh had received only six of its 27 ongoing projects, while other provinces were transferred all projects within their jurisdictions.
Chairman of the Planning and Development Board Sindh Najam Shah further told the committee that federal funds for Sindh had not been released for two consecutive quarters.
The committee directed the Finance Division to release the funds at the earliest.
While discussing road infrastructure, the Secretary Roads said that the Tando Allahyar and Rohri road projects would be completed ahead of schedule, noting Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah’s personal interest in the schemes.
On a question regarding the proposed IT park in Karachi, Federal Secretary for Planning Awais Manzoor Sumra said the Korea-funded Ministry of IT project is currently in the tendering stage.
Briefing the committee on the K-4 water supply project, Additional Secretary Water Resources Mehar Ali Shah said the World Bank is financing the project, which is a joint federal-provincial initiative.
The Chairperson of the Senate Committee stressed that completion of the KB Feeder Project is a World Bank’s condition and warned that further delays would escalate costs.
She directed the federal and provincial irrigation departments to immediately convene a meeting with consultants, Wapda and Nespak to resolve outstanding issues.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025