$3.5 Billion Plan to Rebuild Karachi Coastline

ISLAMABAD: Federal government has announced on Saturday that in the 10^th Joint Cooperation Meeting (JCM) on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), held on 23 September, Pakistan and China have agreed to rebuild Karachi Coastline under CPEC with an estimated cost of $3.5 billion. The new initiative named “Karachi Coastal Comprehensive Development Zone” (KCCDZ), which the government believes will be a “game-changer” with direct Chinese investment would change the seaboard altogether bringing it among the best port cities in the world.

Rebuilt on Karachi Port Trust(KPT) reclaimed land covering an area of about 640 hectares, the new seaboard will include new word class berths for port,, an extraordinary fishery port, and a wonderful harbor bridge which would not only benefit Pakistan but the entire region. The Minister for Maritime affairs was ambitious while terming it to be a massive project.

 “The Chinese work so fast and I guess that it would not take more than five or six years to complete the project. Under the agreed plan, we would relocate some 20,000 to 25,000 families from Machhar Colony and relocate them. Believe me, it’s a huge thing for Pakistan. It’s something massive. It would bring multifold advantages to Pakistan’s maritime economy and further strengthen our coastal development” The minister for Maritime Affairs while sharing the details of the agreement on social media, said that he had always been putting efforts to revamp the coastline ever since he assumed the charge as the minister. He said that he met with so many Chinese firms in this regard and did his utmost to include KCCDZ in CPEC. “The two countries agreed to include KCCDZ under the CPEC framework. KCCDZ, an initiative of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs focuses on providing Karachi with an ultramodern urban infrastructure zone, placing Karachi amongst the top port cities of the world.”