KARACHI: The Rs.30 billion Green Line Phase-II corridor project has been brought to a standstill after Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab ordered suspension of construction, citing procedural violations and the absence of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC).
The project, extending from Guru Mandir to Municipal Park, is part of the federal government’s Karachi development plan and is considered crucial for improving the city’s transport infrastructure. However, the Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company Limited (PIDCL), which is executing the project, has strongly contested KMC’s decision.
According to KMC officials, PIDCL failed to obtain the mandatory NOC before launching work. PIDCL, however, maintains that it already secured the approval in October 2017, signed by the Superintendent Engineer of KMC’s Engineering Department (I&QC). The company described the suspension of a federally sanctioned project on verbal orders as “unacceptable and counterproductive.”
PIDCL further stated that if KMC or the mayor had any reservations, they should have been formally conveyed through a written request, adding that the agency would have issued the NOC without delay.
Meanwhile, KMC insists no valid NOC was issued for the second phase of the project and confirmed that the suspension was ordered directly by the mayor. Following the intervention, the project contractor has withdrawn staff and machinery from the site.
The dispute has escalated to the point where a meeting is expected between Mayor Wahab and senior PIDCL officials, including CEO Waseem Bajwa and General Manager Shafi Chhachhar, in an attempt to resolve the impasse and restart construction.
