KARACHI: Efforts on to start work on Corridor-II, says nazim
KARACHI, March 23: City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal on Thursday said that steps were being taken to ensure initiation of work on the Mass Transit Corridor-II by June this year. The $500 million project would be executed with the help of China. Addressing to a joint meeting of city government officers and representatives of the Sinomatch, an organization working under the federal government of China, the nazim said that he would take up this issue with senior federal officials and, if necessary, would call on the president and prime minister to tell them about the importance of this project and how badly it was needed.
He said that during the president’s recent visit to China, it was decided that China would help construct the Corridor-II with an estimated cost of $500 million.
The city nazim stressed on an early launching of the project, saying: “we have already wasted 30 precious years but it’s time to act by kicking off big projects.”
He was of the view that if work on this project and the Quaidabad-Jinnah Bridge Expressway could be started now and simultaneously, this would resolve most of the traffic problems in the city within a few years.
He said that these two projects would attract an investment of around Rs45 billion and provide jobs to thousands of people.
Under a bilateral deal, China would extend loans for mega projects on very easy terms and the federal finance ministry had expressed its willingness to utilize the loans in executing the Corridor-II project.
The city nazim assured the Chinese delegation that this project would be handed over to the Sinomatch as soon as the clearance was given by the government of Pakistan.
Syed Mustafa Kamal described the Pakistan-China friendship as ‘exemplary’, and pointed out that Chinese investors were investing in Pakistan and Chinese products were becoming very popular in this country.
He said that many people were coming here from China and any problem faced by them would be resolved. He invited Chinese people to work with Pakistanis, and remarked: “I would not waste more time and want to work for a better future for Karachi and its people.”
The delegation thanked the city nazim for his warm sentiments and lauded his services for Karachi. It asked him to send city government’s engineers to China so that they could get acquainted with the Chinese technologies, the way of their working and to develop their skills further. The nazim expressed his gratitude for the generous offer.
Earlier, the meeting was briefed about the Corridor-II project. The corridor, between Orangi and Cantonment Station, would have an eight-kilometre elevated expressway and six-kilometre underground road from Garden to the Cantonment Station. It would be linked with the Corridor-I at the intersection of Garden Road and M. A. Jinnah Road.
The meeting was also told that the Quaidabad-Jinnah Bridge Expressway, which would be built by a Malaysian company, would be linked with the Corridor-I at the Jinnah Bridge. Underpasses: City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal at 3:45am on Thursday paid a detailed visit to the ongoing development projects at Gharibabad, Liaquatabad and Nazimabad.
The officials concerned told him that the water supply lines passing through the sites had been shifted from the under-construction Gharibabad underpass while the work on shifting the sewerage lines would be completed in the next four days.
He was informed that 95 per cent of water and sewerage lines had been shifted from the Liaquatabad underpass site those at the Nazimabad underpass site would be removed in the next five days.
Expressing his satisfaction over the work carried out so far at the sites, Mr Kamal directed the officials to maintain this pace of the construction work and start the work on second phase after completing the first phase in two months.—PPI/APP
