Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab has claimed that the Karimabad underpass will be completed within the next one and a half to two months. He further announced that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has begun work on 106 roads across the city, which will also be completed within two months, adding that contractors failing to deliver quality work will be blacklisted.
Speaking at a press conference, Wahab strongly criticized the federal government over the Green Line project. He noted that a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the project was issued in 2017, yet the federal authority resumed work on it only in 2025 after an eight-year delay. He accused federal institutions of claiming correctness while holding the local government responsible.
The mayor said the Green Line project has left M.A. Jinnah Road in a dilapidated condition, with streetlights and the sewerage system destroyed. He added that the project still does not extend to Tower but remains limited to Jama Cloth Market.
Wahab further revealed that on July 7, 2025, the federal body wrote to resume work on the Green Line, to which the KMC responded on July 9, requesting that the earlier work be completed first and that a clear timeline of the project’s start and completion be provided. However, no response has been received to date. He questioned whether federal agencies had the authority to bypass local governments.
He emphasized that when roads are damaged, people question the mayor, not the prime minister. He added that the federal government should be ashamed that the NOC has remained pending for nine years, and now excuses are being made about the absence of an SOP for providing funds to the mayor. He recalled that during Mustafa Kamal’s tenure, the federal government provided funds directly to local governments.
Commenting on the Red Line project, Wahab said the contract rate had already increased significantly. He stated that efforts were underway to resolve the technical issues, warning that without cost adjustments, project expenses would continue to escalate.
