Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday chaired the 48th meeting of the Public-Private Partnership Policy Board at the CM House, approving the procurement of 500 electric buses for Karachi and Hyderabad, The News reported.
Also approved were an elevated expressway linking Karachi Port with Qayyumabad, and the adoption of a fixed-and-variable cost annuity model for Regional Blood Centres in Sukkur, Karachi and Shaheed Benazirabad, among other projects.
The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, the chief secretary, the principal secretary to the CM, the Planning and Development Board chairman, the Public-Private Partnership Unit director general, the transport secretary and other relevant officials.
The policy board approved the Peoples Green Transport Project under the public-private partnership mode to introduce a large fleet of electric buses to Karachi and Hyderabad.
The board endorsed the project’s scope, structure, and risk matrix, and accepted the amended unsolicited proposal submitted by a private firm, granting it the right of first refusal and exemption from the prequalification process. It also authorised the initiation of the investor solicitation process to engage a private partner.
Under the project, 500 electric buses would be deployed in phases along with depots, charging infrastructure, bus shelters, and an automatic fare collection and intelligent transport system. The project, which would be executed with a 12-year concession period, is expected to serve over 200,000 passengers daily, integrate with the Green Line BRT, and significantly improve urban mobility. The board termed the initiative a major step towards clean, modern, and efficient public transport in Sindh.
The board approved the development of the Karachi Port to Qayyumabad (Jam Sadiq Interchange) Elevated Expressway Project under a public-private partnership.
The CM directed the PPP board to expedite the paperwork so that he could perform the ground-breaking of the project. The board endorsed the project scope, transaction structure, and risk matrix, and approved the unsolicited proposal for competitive bidding.
The project involves design, finance and construction of a 16.5-kilometre four-lane elevated freight expressway connecting the Karachi Port (East Wharf) to Jam Sadiq Interchange. The expressway would reduce travel distance by 26 kilometres, enabling 24/7 heavy traffic movement, easing congestion on urban roads, and improving port efficiency and connectivity with M-9 and Shahrah-e-Bhutto.
The board also approved design changes to align with the Yellow Line BRT, add mixed-traffic ramps, improve port connectivity, and avoid major land acquisition. Under the DBFOT user-pay model, the Sindh government would provide capital and operational VGF, including a minimum revenue guarantee for 10 years.
The board approved the adoption of a fixed and variable cost-based annuity model across Regional Blood Centres (RBCs) in Sukkur, Karachi, and Shaheed Benazirabad, following the framework previously approved for RBC Jamshoro.
The RBC facilities shall now be able to fully optimise the capacity so that approximately 250,000 blood bags could be issued annually by each RBC to the designated hospital blood banks (HBBs).
The demand for safe blood is quite high in government hospitals, and through this initiative, the RBCs shall be able to cater to a majority of the demand. Blood bags are issued to patients for free in the designated government HBBs.
The policy board approved PDF funding to hire transaction advisers for the feasibility study and transaction advisory services to outsource radiology and diagnostic lab services at the Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH), Larkana, and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Karachi.
The health department intends to implement the project under the public-private partnership modality to address serious challenges in operating and maintaining advanced diagnostic equipment such as MRI, CT scan, digital X-ray, ultrasound, and echocardiography.
Through outsourcing, the private partner would invest in new equipment, ensure operations and maintenance, upgrade outdated systems, deploy trained staff, and improve turnaround time for test results, ensuring patient-centred diagnostic services.
The board reviewed the revised 10th-year operational budget of the Sindh Government Children Hospital, North Karachi, from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, amounting to Rs738.65 million, along with the proposed capital expenditure of Rs95.12 million to be incurred in the final year of the contract.
The meeting approved the revised budgets and necessary amendments to the concession agreement to ensure continued quality service delivery at the hospital.
With the intention to restore the riverine forests of Sindh to minimise the climate change impacts and contribute to the reduction in greenhouse gases in Pakistan, a riverine forestation project on approximately 41 thousand hectares in Jamshoro and Matiari districts shall be undertaken under public-private partnership.
The board accorded its approval to the forest department for the issuance of a letter of award to the preferred bidders for three bidding packages.
The project is expected to generate approximately 35 to 40 million carbon credits, which would be monetised through international carbon markets, resulting in significant foreign exchange earnings.
The board also approved engagement of the Asian Development Bank for a feasibility study for a new riverine forestation project that would span approximately 88,000 hectares.
The board also approved a project under the public-private partnership mode to revolutionise rice and wheat cultivation and harvesting in Sindh by introducing modern agricultural practices through mechanisation of farming activities, where advanced machinery would be provided to farmers on a rental basis.
The primary objective of the project is to enhance productivity and improve the overall efficiency of rice and wheat farming. The approval included PDF funding for a feasibility study so that the project could be launched in the next few months.
The board also accorded approval for a feasibility study for the establishment of a tomato cluster processing project to be located in the Thatta district.
The policy board accorded approval for the execution of a concession agreement for the NED Science and Technology Park Project to be located within the NED University. The tech park shall be a green building and the first university-based science and technology park project in the country.
An agreement for the project would be signed with the Enertech Holding Company, which is a subsidiary of the Kuwait Investment Authority, under a G2G arrangement in the public-private partnership mode. The agreement is expected to be signed by the end of October 2025.