Sindh, WB launch the CLICK project to improve local government performance.
Karachi: The Sindh government has teamed up with the World Bank and launched a USD 240 million mega project – named ‘Competitive and Liveable City of Karachi CLICK – to bring infrastructural reforms to the city; with a primary focus on improving the performance of the local government delivery system, according to news sources.
The project’s launching ceremony was held on Friday at the Peoples Hall of the New Sindh Secretariat. As per reports, it is estimated to be completed within a period of six years.
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The Sindh government will contribute USD 10 million to the project’s development as part of its annual development program, while the WB, under its Investment Projecting Financing (IPF) initiative, will provide USD 230 million to the provincial government in the form of a loan.
The Sindh government, as such, has recruited the WB’s services to improve the operational performance of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), district municipal bodies (DMCs), and the District Council Karachi.
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Local Government Minister Nasir Shah said that the project encompasses three key functional concerns:
- Enhancing the capacity of the city’s local councils, arranged under the ambit of the local government, for executing infrastructural – against a budget of USD 181.86 million.
- Improving the urban real estate tax system through the excise and taxation department – against a budget of USD 40.4 million.
- Improving the functioning of the Sindh Investment Portal through the investment department – against a budget of USD 17.2 million.
CLICK, further, will seek to establish a public-private-partnership mode of project execution overseen by the Local Government, along with providing technical assistance to the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board.
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Minister Shah, commenting on the breakthrough, expressed hope that the project will deliver ‘scientific insights’ to manage the ever-increasing number of shanty settlements and improve sewerage infrastructure in Karachi.