KARACHI: Work on the second track of the Lyari Expressway, which had been stalled for a host of reasons since 2008, resumed on Thursday with the pledge by Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad that the project would be completed within the next 18 months.

The resumption of work on the expressway track from Mauripur to Sohrab Goth was good news for the people of Karachi, as its completion would help a great deal in easing traffic congestion, said the governor who was accompanied by transport minister Mir Mumtaz Jakhrani, local government minister Jam Khan Shoro, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation administrator Roshan Shaikh and city commissioner Asif Hyder Shah at the site near Essa Nagri.

“The dream finally came true today,” said Dr Ibad, explaining that there were numerous reasons such as grant of the right of way and unavailability of required funds that delayed the completion of work.

After the removal of all the obstacles in the way, including the grant of the right of way and resolving the dispute over compensation for owners of the houses that came in the way of the project, work had finally resumed, the governor said.

With the completion of the remaining 5.3-kilometre-long track, the expressway would benefit road traffic from Mauripur to Sohrab Goth, he said, adding that it would certainly cut distances and save time.

He said the pace of development was being accelerated after the improvement in the law and order situation in the city.

In reply to a question, Dr Ibad said there were 15,000 establishments in the way of the project, but their number surged over the years. He said appropriate measures were taken over the reports of corruption in the resettlement project for affected residents. He said mosques, Imambargahs, churches and cemeteries were in the way of the expressway, which needed time to be relocated.

The officials informed the governor that the issue of the right of way for the remaining 1.1km track would soon be resolved, as a court stay order for that part of the expressway project had already expired.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2016