-
-
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has given the green light for the signing of a Rs5.5 billion agreement between the provincial police department and the National Radio & Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) to initiate the first phase of the Smart Safe City project in Karachi’s red zone.
The approval came during a meeting convened at the CM House on Wednesday, attended by key officials including Home Minister Zia Lanjar, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Riffat Mukhtar, NRTC Managing Director Brig. Asim Ishaque, Sindh Safe Cities Authority Director General Asif Aijaz Shaikh, and other stakeholders.
The Smart Safe City project entails the installation of 1,300 CCTV cameras equipped with facial recognition and automatic number plate recognition across 300 sites in the red zone and airport road corridors.
Responding to queries, it was revealed that a 193km optical fibre cable network would link 18 police stations, facilitating seamless connectivity. The cameras will feed into the Command & Control Centre (C&CC) of the Central Police Office, with plans for a permanent C&CC to be established at the Karachi Police Office.
The system will enable monitoring of hospitals to track the presence of criminals/suspects, implement multiple camera tracking against suspects, manage databases of criminals, and integrate with national and criminal databases.
Expressing anticipation for the project’s implementation, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah remarked that the initiative, long-awaited, was finally coming to fruition. He stressed the importance of timely completion, urging the NRTC to expedite the first phase within one and a half years, despite an initially projected two-year timeframe.
Highlighting Karachi’s burgeoning population, projected to exceed 20.38 million by 2030, the CM underscored the necessity for an advanced electronic surveillance system leveraging the latest IT technologies to ensure real-time monitoring of activities across the city.
The agreement was formally signed by Sindh Safe Cities Authority DG Shaikh and NRTC MD Brig. Ishaque in the presence of the CM, the CS, and other dignitaries, marking a significant step towards enhancing security infrastructure in Karachi.
