November 07, 2008	Friday	Ziqa'ad 8, 1429

KARACHI, Nov 6: Construction of the signal-free corridor-III — between Empress Market (Saddar) and Malir via Preedy Street and Safoora Goth — will be start in the first week of December. The project is being executed at a cost of Rs2.25 billion.

The project was reviewed at a meeting held here on Thursday with City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal in the chair.

The corridor will have four flyovers to be developed at the jail intersection and Nipa Chowrangi, Abul Hassan Ispahani Road and Samama junction. Beautification of the entire corridor between Hasan Square and Safoora Goth, and the refurbished section of the University Road, are also part of the project and planned to be completed within six months.

Participants of the meeting, DCO Javed Hanif, Water Board MD Ghulam Arif Khan, EDOs, heads of the departments concerned and representatives of the consultant firm, were informed that the corridor would stretch over Saddar, Empress Market, Preedy Street, Numaish, New M.A. Jinnah Road, Jail Chowrangi, University Road, Safoora Goth and Malir.

Preedy Street would be made dual-track between Saddar and Numaish intersection. A 5,200- running-foot portion had already been completed while the remaining portion of 2,600-running -foot was to be constructed.

Relocation of residents

The meeting was also informed that the population residing along the project site would have to be resettled in some other area. This would cost Rs170 million.

Mr Kamal called for immediate steps for the shifting of those residing in the project site in Preedy Street area, and said that work on the infrastructure, like water and sewerage lines, roads and other utility services, should be started immediately at the alternative place where the affected people were planned to be resettled.

The managing director of the Water Board had been directed to appoint a senior engineer for this project so that the work could be completed at the earliest, he added.

The nazim expressed concern over non-cooperation on the part of the utility organizations in the development projects.

He noted that before designing the flyovers, the consultant firm of the corridor-III project had sent letters to all the organizations concerned seeking information about the presence of their lines falling in the route of the corridor but KESC, SSGC and PTCL had not responded to the request as yet.

Nazim said that work should be geared up and if the concerned organizations did not response in time, then they would themselves be responsible for any losses later on while no organization would be allowed road cutting once the road and corridors were completed.

He described the corridor as “most essential”, and maintained that its construction would help overcome all bottlenecks in a smooth flow of traffic all along its route.

He said this corridor would also be connected with the city government’s command and control cetnre.

The nazim directed the officials and executives concerned that while designing every project for the corridor-III, care be taken that plants and trees remained unaffected during the development work.—APP