Karachi is Among World’s Least Liveable Cities: World Bank

Residents and businesses of Karachi are witnessing a city unable to keep pace with its physical growth, or to equitably meet the basic needs of residents and local businesses, says the World Bank.

The World Bank’s report ‘Fact Sheet: World Bank’s Engagement in Karachi,’ stated that Karachi is Pakistan’s economic hub and for Pakistan to reach its potential, Karachi aims to become a more livable, inclusive, and competitive city.

Unfortunately, Karachi currently ranks among the bottom ten cities in the world in terms of livability, according to the 2019 Global Livability Index. Metro Karachi performs poorly on all indicators of municipal services and all dimensions of livability, health, environment, safety, and education.

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It stated that water and sewage networks meet only roughly half of the city’s needs. As a result, water is available for only a few hours per day. Most sewage is discharged into the ocean untreated. More than 60 percent of solid waste is openly dumped, with dramatic impacts on drainage and the urban environment.

It further stated that the gap in affordable housing is acute, with an estimated 50 percent of the city residents forced to live in informal settlements. Streets and public spaces, which directly support the livelihood of many of Karachi’s residents, have been progressively disappearing.

Karachi’s infrastructure is highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters. Poor residents suffer the most from these challenges. Fragmented city management has led to ineffective institutions, with little coordination among them, leading to insufficient planning and investments and declining public confidence.

However, it has clarified that the anti-encroachment drive taking place since 2018 is not being done under any World Bank-financed operations in any part of the city.

There have been no forced evictions or demolitions in any of the sites of World Bank-financed projects in Karachi. In accordance with financing agreements with the Government of Pakistan and the Government of Sindh, World Bank financing cannot be used for any activities in areas that have been impacted by the anti-encroachment drive.

All World Bank-financed operations in Karachi must be designed and implemented per the principles and requirements of the World Bank’s policies on involuntary resettlement. These are articulated in Environmental and Social Standard 5 (ESS5) of the Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and its predecessor Operational Policy 4.12.

Transforming Karachi into a Livable and Competitive Megacity, a World Bank diagnostic report estimated that $10 billion in capital investments were needed to bridge vital infrastructure gaps and to improve the region’s economic potential.

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Furthermore, consultations on the report made it clear that capital investments alone would not be sufficient to address the challenges but that a shared vision of transformation and long-term commitments from the government and the citizens would be required to achieve the scale of the change needed, the report added.

The World Bank’s current financing package of $838 million is for investments in water supply, sewerage, public transport, public spaces, urban governance, and solid waste management interventions.

These investments are expected to benefit 5.6 million people in Karachi, equivalent to a third of its population. Additionally, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are also financing investments in public transport, water supply, and sewerage.