Karachi Safe City Project to be launched within two months: minister

KARACHI: Provincial Minister for Information Science and Technology, Nawab Muhammad Taimur Talpur said on Thursday that Karachi’s Safe City will be launched within the next 60 days, ARY News reported.

The minister said this while speaking on the floor of the Sindh Assembly.

IT minister said that the project would be completed in three phases, adding that work under phase 1 would be completed in the next 60 days.

“In the first phase, safe city cameras will be installed at Karachi Railway Station and District South,” said IT minister Taimur Talpur. The minister further added, “Safe city cameras will be installed across the provincial capital in the second and third phase. The entire project would be completed in three years.

He said that Karachi – the financial hub of Pakistan will soon become one of the safer cities of the world.

The project which was approved in 2011, is yet to be launched as the cost of the project has witnessed a 100 percent increase. The initial plan of the safe city project in 2011 estimated a cost of Rs 10 billion, however, after a span of nine years, the cost has doubled to Rs 20 billion.

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The project included the installation of CCTV cameras and the establishment of command and control centres in the city besides the introduction of the face and vehicle recognition software and biometric system to identify culprits.

It is pertinent to mention here that  Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on October 24 directed concerned officials to expedite work on the Karachi Safe City Project.