Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday approved an Rs84.8 billion Karachi Transformation Plan and announced a partnership with the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to fast-track major infrastructure and connectivity projects in the city.

Presiding over a joint meeting of FWO, the Local Government Department and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) at the CM House, Murad Shah said the Sindh government aims to deliver large-scale development through quality planning, speed and transparency.

“I want to initiate development projects in partnership with FWO to ensure quality, speed and transparency,” the chief minister said, adding that Karachi’s development must match global standards.

The plan includes a one-time grant-in-aid of Rs84.796 billion for 523 development schemes across Karachi. The chief minister also said Rs26.282 billion has been approved under the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for Karachi-related projects.

Six priority infrastructure schemes worth Rs10.72 billion have been identified for immediate execution to ease traffic congestion, improve connectivity and strengthen urban mobility.

These include rehabilitation of the road from M-9 to Malir-15 via Jinnah Avenue and Shahrah-e-Faisal, construction of a right-turn underpass at Malir Halt, and a flyover from Airport Road to Star Gate to improve airport access.

Other projects include rehabilitation of the Hawksbay road from Y-Junction to Machli Chowk, including damaged sections from Masroor Base to the Truck Stand, and construction of a Rs5 billion flyover at Sohrab Goth, Karachi’s main intercity gateway.

The meeting was attended by Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah, Chief Secretary Sindh Asif Hyder Shah, Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Principal Secretary to the CM Agha Wasif, Commissioner Karachi Hassan Naqvi and Finance Secretary Fayaz Jatoi. The FWO delegation was led by its Director General, Major General Abdul Sami.

Briefing the meeting, the local government minister and the Karachi mayor said the city faces serious structural, environmental and civic challenges. They said 10 to 12 high-impact schemes are being prioritised, with five already approved for early implementation.

Mayor Wahab said the 523 schemes were identified through field verification, departmental assessments and stakeholder consultations, and are aimed at improving traffic flow, airport and intercity connectivity, logistics routes, civic infrastructure and urban aesthetics.

The chief minister directed that FWO engineers, along with officials from the Local Government Department and KMC, finalise designs and identify utility relocations by the end of February so construction can begin in March.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to sustainable and efficiently executed development projects in coordination with all stakeholders.