Under the Karachi Coastal Development Plan, Karachi has been included in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to bring the city at par with the most developed cities in the world. The initiative to include the port city of Karachi in CPEC has been lauded as strategic by Prime Minister Imran Khan, as it will present opportunities for investors and develop 20,000 low-income housing units for locals. Therefore, driving local economic growth and development side by side.
According to Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, Ali Zaidi, the project will be executed using direct Chinese investments under CPEC. Under the Karachi Coastal Development Plan, the project is worth 3.5 billion USD. The project aims to renovate Karachi’s seaboard with new berths for the port, a new fishery port and a harbour bridge that will connect the port with Manora Islands and Sandspit beach.
The Karachi Coastal Comprehensive Development Zone (KCCDZ) is stretched across 640 hectares on the western marshland of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT). Under the new plan, the KCCDZ will also revamp one of the oldest city slums of Karachi, Machar Colony and relocate its half-a-million population.
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