Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Thursday that talks with Chinese technology firm Huawei on Phase-II of the Karachi Safe City Project are in their final stage, and that work on the scheme is expected to begin soon. He made the remarks while meeting Chinese Consul General Feng Deheng at CM House in Karachi. Special Assistant to the CM Syed Qasim Naveed also attended.
The meeting centred on completing government-to-government (G2G) agreements — deals between governments rather than private firms alone — that were signed with Chinese companies during Mr Shah’s recent visit to China.
Phase-II cameras and the wider plan
Phase-II of the Karachi Safe City Project is planned to install more than 2,300 cameras. Of these, about 870 are for general surveillance, 1,300 would have Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and facial recognition — systems that can read vehicle plates and identify faces from video — and 80 are for traffic enforcement.
Across all phases, the overall plan envisages nearly 10,000 cameras at more than 2,000 locations in the city. Mr Shah said Karachi, as Pakistan’s largest metropolis, needs a modern security and surveillance network. He said he had inspected Huawei’s Safe City system during his China visit, and that the Sindh government wants a state-of-the-art setup in Karachi, including a modern command and control centre.
Wider Sindh–China cooperation
An official CM House statement said the consul general congratulated Mr Shah on the Shanghai Investment Conference, noting that participation by 400 investors reflected confidence in the provincial government. Mr Shah said Sindh remains committed to deeper cooperation with Chinese investors across several sectors.
On agriculture, he said talks had covered Chinese technology to raise sunflower and wheat output in Sindh. He also said the government wants to install the remaining gates of Sukkur Barrage in the winter season and to speed up installation of 100 gates for the barrage and its off-taking canals, after visiting a gate manufacturer in China. The two sides discussed a sister-city link between Sukkur and Yichang, linked to China’s Three Gorges region, which Mr Shah said could open cooperation between universities, hospitals and other institutions.
What happens next
Mr Shah and the consul general agreed to set up working groups in different sectors to strengthen coordination and move the signed agreements forward. The meeting restated a shared focus on investment, technology, agriculture, urban security and infrastructure.
For the Karachi Safe City Project itself, the immediate next step described by the chief minister is closing the Huawei Phase-II talks so that installation work can start.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Recent China visit: Mr Shah inspected Huawei’s Safe City system and signed G2G agreements with Chinese firms; he also visited a company that makes barrage gates.
- Thursday (CM House meeting): He said Huawei talks on Phase-II of the Karachi Safe City Project are being finalised and work is expected soon; working groups with the Chinese side were agreed.
- Planned for winter: The Sindh government intends to install remaining Sukkur Barrage gates and expedite 100 gates for the barrage and its canals.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Sindh ke wazir-e-ala ne kaha hai ke Karachi Safe City Project ke doosre phase par Huawei se baat cheet almost khatam ho rahi hai. Is phase mein 2,300 se zyada cameras lagane ka plan hai, jin mein number plate aur traffic wale cameras bhi shamil hain. Poore project mein lagbhag 10,000 cameras shahr ke 2,000 se zyada jagahon par lag sakte hain. Kaam jald shuru hone ki umeed hai, lekin abhi baatain complete ho rahi hain.
