KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has reiterated his government’s commitment to resolving all outstanding issues related to land and right-ofway (RoW) for turning the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) into reality with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The chief minister discussed the KCR revival and various other development projects with Emma Fan, the country director of the ADB Pakistan Resident Mission, during a meeting held here at the CM House on Wednesday.
The provincial government had approached the ADB for KCR’s revival after the project remained stalled for years due to technical snags and bureaucratic delays when it became part of the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor.In May, an ADB delegation met Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah and informed him that the bank was ready to finance the KCR revival with $1 billion, including an initial $10 million for preparatory work such as design review, operational planning, institutional arrangements and financing models.
‘The KCR is a transformative project for the city and has been awaited for many years. The government of Sindh will work with the federal government and all stakeholders to address outstanding issues and move the project towards implementation,’ the CM told the ADB official.
The meeting, according to a statement issued by the CM House, agreed that the next steps would include finalising terms of reference, confirming land availability and advancing project design work.
The statement said that the discussions focused on Sindh’s development priorities, ongoing ADB-supported projects, future investment opportunities, and preparations for the implementation of major initiatives in education, transport, health, digital transformation and rural development.
The meeting was also briefed on the progress of the much-delayed ADB-fundedBus Rapid Transit Red Line project.
The 26.6-kilometre corridor, stretching from Malir Halt to Numaish, is expected to directly benefit approximately 1.5 million residents by providing safe, efficient and environmentally sustainable public transport, it said.
‘The project is currently under active construction, with utility relocation works nearing completion and major corridor works progressing across multiple sections,’ the ADB official told.
Mr Shah and the ADB official reviewed progress under the Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Project (SSEIP).
The project aims to construct 116 modern secondary schoolblocks across 10 districts of Sindh, significantly expanding access to quality education, especially for girls and underserved communities.
The chief minister noted that the completion of the first batch of schools marks a major milestone and demonstrates the government’s commitment to improving educational opportunities across the province.
‘We are determined to maintain momentum and complete more than 200 schools by the end of this year and over 800 schools under various programmes in the coming months,’ he said.Officials informed the meeting that training for 2,630 secondary school teachers in five key subjects had been completed.
The CM and the ADB official, according to the statement, agreed to secure the project director Rizwan Soomro’s tenure until the scheme is completed.
The meeting also reviewed progress under the Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Project-Additional Financing (SSEIP-AF), a major post-flood reconstruction initiative.
The programme aims to rebuild 722 flood-damaged schools across five districts using climate-resilient and gender-responsive designs.
Education Minister Sardar Shah informed the meeting that under the phased completion programme, 495 reconstructed schoolsareexpectedtobehanded over between October 2026 and June 2027.
Ms Fan informed the chief minister that ADB’s country programming mission had been engaging with many departments to discuss future cooperation priorities and project pipelines for 2026-2030.
The mission reviewed proposed investments in the Sindh Nursing and Health Workforce Strengthening Project, theDigitalisation and AI Enablement Project and Sindh Accelerated Transformative Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (STAR-WASH).
‘ADB values its strong partnership with the Sindh government and remains committed to supporting initiatives that improve education, mobility, health services and climate resilience. The progress achieved under SSEIP demonstrates what can be accomplished through effective collaboration and shared commitment,’ she said.
She added: ‘We look forward to working closely with the government of Sindh on future investments that promote inclusive growth, strengthen human capital and improve the quality of life for communities across the province.
The meeting also reviewed the proposed Sustainable Mobility Project Sindh, which would improve public transport systems in Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana.
ADB informed the meeting that approximately $300 million has been allocated for the initiative. The chief minister described the project as critical for improving urban mobility and directed departments to expedite planning and implementation preparations.