April 22, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 15, 1429

KARACHI, April 21: The construction of an additional block in the Sindh Assembly building is likely to be taken up on a priority basis, well-placed sources say.

The decision has reportedly been taken keeping in view the current capacity of the press, governor’s and visitors’ galleries, which is far below the requirement. The situation that arose at the inaugural session of the newly-elected house and on the occasion of the election of its new speaker and deputy speaker actually prompted the relevant authorities to expedite the project.

In this connection, a brief summary has already been presented to the speaker of the Sindh Assembly, Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, who himself witnessed overcrowded galleries during the sessions.

Originally the present structure was conceived to accommodate only 82 assembly members, 213 visitors and 44 representatives of the media, which over the time has proved to be quite insufficient with the addition of members from 114 of the post-Zia era to 168 members in 2002.

Observers recall that Nisar Khuhro, who was leader of the opposition in the previous provincial assembly, along with his colleagues had boycotted a function on August 31, 2007 in which the then chief minister, Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, and the former speaker, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, were to lay the foundation stone of the project.

Former senior minister Syed Sardar Ahmad, who was heading the project committee, had also initiated negotiations to acquire a private property at the corner of the assembly building to make it a part of the assembly premises as a compact block.

The construction of the project could not be started due to certain financial hurdles and technical problems. Later, Federal Finance Minister (caretaker) Salman Shah during his visit to the metropolis in December last had informed the high-ups of the Sindh government that the trend of increasing the ADP was contrary to the principles of macro economics and that the IMF had objected to that practice.

The estimated cost of the new block was Rs1.939 billion against its initial cost of Rs600 million when it was conceived in 1996.

The project, if started without further delay, is likely to be completed by 2010 and will comprise a basement and ground plus three floors to be linked with the old historical building.

The hall of the new block will have the capacity to accommodate around 350 members with a provision for further expansion.

The project also envisages capacity around 1,000 visitors, 200 media people, 100 women, 100 guests of the speaker, 50 officials and will also accommodate 20 guests of the governor.

Its basement will have a library, a mosque and a parking lot.