Chief Minister says World Bank door-to-door assessments identified 3.1 million properties
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah addresses a press conference on Wednesday. Photo: NNI
KARACHI:
City dwellers, complaining of lack of civic amenities and crumbling infrastructure, will soon receive property tax notices for their homes and shops located on dilapidated and dug-up roads with overflowing sewage.
To meet the World Bank’s conditions for more loans, the Sindh government conducted a door-to-door survey to optimize tax collection.
Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah told a World Bank delegation on Wednesday that door-to-door urban property tax assessments identified 3.1 million properties out of 3.3 million, with reallocations of funds approved by the project steering committee.
He chaired a sector review meeting with a 10-member high-ranking delegation from the World Bank, led by Country Director Bolormaa Amgaabazar, to assess ongoing development projects and define future priorities for the province.
Speaking at the meeting, CM Shah described the partnership with the World Bank as the cornerstone of Sindh’s reform and recovery agenda. “We aim for faster implementation, stronger results and visible impact for citizens,” he said.
Currently, 13 WB-supported projects are underway in Sindh, with a total cost of $3.8 billion, of which $1.96 billion has already been disbursed. For the financial year 2025-2026, a base disbursement target of $700.25 million has been set. Key projects in the areas of urban development, transportation and municipal services include the $230 million Karachi Competitive and Livable City Project, the $382 million Karachi Mobility Project and the $100 million Solid Waste Emergency and Efficiency Project.
The meeting was told that 161 city municipal committee projects worth $66.7 million are underway, of which 47 have already been completed, representing an overall physical progress of 61 percent. Similarly, eight Karachi Metropolitan Corporation projects totaling $19 million are underway, and four projects in the procurement stage are expected to be awarded by December 16, 2025.
Regarding the urban property tax survey, door-to-door assessments identified 3.1 million properties out of 3.3 million, with reallocations of funds approved by the Project Steering Committee.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah highlighted significant progress in the governance, infrastructure, education, health and social welfare sectors, highlighting the commissioning of the second wave of Sindh Business Single Window System (SBOSS) on November 28, 2025. So far, 13 of 19 institutions have been onboarded, 54 of 130 regulatory licenses digitized and 4,089 e-permits delivered. The third wave, covering six establishments and the remaining 76 licenses, is expected by May 2026.
