The Karachi Safe City Project had been officially initiated on Friday in a graceful ceremony held at Sindh Police Security & Emergency Services Division Headquarters.
The project is a joint venture of Government of Sindh and National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC), according to a news release.
In 2016, the Supreme Court had instructed to launch the project. In January this year, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Security and Emergency Services Division Dr. Maqsood Ahmed was handed over the additional charge of DG Sindh Safe Cities Authority.
A series of meetings were presided over by the Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Secretary Sindh Sohail Rajput and DG Sindh Safe Cities Authority during a short span.
Chief Secretary Sindh constituted a committee under the supervision of DG Sindh Safe Cities Authority to evaluate and prepare an enhanced technical proposal/solution as well as a financial proposal of the project.
After long deliberations with all the stakeholders, the project cost, which was earlier Rs. 44 billion approximately, was reduced to Rs. 22 billion approximately, with enhanced standards as compared to earlier proposals.
DG Sindh Safe Cities Authtority Dr. Maqsood Ahmed chaired a meeting which was attended by the representatives of Sindh Safe Cities Authority, NRTC, Technical Committee members and all stake holders of the project to officially announced the launch of project.
DG SSCA said best technical firms have been selected from among the wide array of options and that the project will be launched in two phases. In the first phase, 4000 cameras will be installed at various points of the city alongwith the up-gradation of 2000 existing cameras.
In the second phase, 6000 cameras will be installed across the city.
DG SSCA stated that it will be a historic and beneficial project for the people of Karachi in terms of security and surveillance, based on meritocracy and 100% transparency.
The DG SSCA & technical team thoroughly discussed each component of the project with the NRTC & the vendors. More than 50 representatives of different companies attended various meetings and presented the strength and quality of their products.
The essential components which were missing from the earlier proposals were included in the project, such as upgradation of existing 2000 CCTV surveillance system, emergency response system & vehicles, human resource & training facility and digital communication network
The following brands would provide technical support in completion of the project. Hikvision, Cisco, NRTC, Oracle, Schneider/APC, Avaya, Vericom, Hytera, Hystar, HP, Optech Pvt Ltd, Global Connect Synergy, Optech Pvt Ltd, Toyota/Suzuki, Caterpillar, DJI and Amped Five.
In addition to the technical support, the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer) will provide comprehensive operational, technical and maintenance training to personnel of SSCA and NRTC.
A prayer session followed by a cake-cutting was also held to conclude the ceremony.
