KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Friday gave yet another deadline to authorities to complete the construction work of the Malir Expressway project so that he could inaugurate its first phase by the end of October.

Earlier in July, the CM had directed the authorities to complete the first 15-kilometre portion of the Malir Expressway from Jam Sadiq Bridge to Shah Faisal Colony so that it could be opened for public by the second week of August.

However, the project could not be completed within the deadline as a meeting, chaired by the CM, was informed on Friday that 85 per cent work on the first segment of the Malir Expressway had been completed.

The meeting, held at the CM House, was attended by Planning and Development (P&D) Minister Nasir Shah, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Energy Secretary Musadiq Khan, P&D chairman Najam Shah, Finance Secretary Fayaz Jatoi, Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh and Public Private Partnership Unit chief Asad Zamin.

CM asks Nasir Shah to oversee construction work to ensure 15-km portion of Phase I will be open for public by October end

“The chief minister directed P&D Minister Nasir Shah to personally visit the Malir Expressway and get the work on the Quaidabad bridge, Shah Faisal interchange, and EBM interchange completed so that the first segment of the expressway could be opened for traffic by the end of next month,” said a press release issued by the CM House.

The meeting was informed that 35pc work on the second segment of the project — from Quaidabad to Kathore — had been completed.

The CM was told that slope protection and the apron of the expressway along the Malir river had been developed properly.

The chief minister said that considering the traffic situation in the city, the Sindh government had decided to provide a shortest alternate route to connect the M-9 motorway with the city centre, and after a thorough study, it launched the six-lane Malir Expressway along the left bank of the Malir river that starts from Jam Sadiq Bridge and ends at Kathore.

Kati dinner

Speaking as the chief guest at the annual dinner of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (Kati) on Thursday night, the CM talked about traffic issues in Korangi Industrial Area and said that the Sindh government was working on a fast-track basis to construct the Malir Expressway to cater to traffic hazards, especially heavy traffic. The first phase of this project will be completed very soon.

He said that he had approved the construction of an expressway connecting the Karachi Port Terminal to Malir Expressway via Jam Sadiq Bridge.

He expressed concern over the federal government’s neglect of Sindh, pointing out that the province had not received adequate investment compared to others. He noted that while motorways had been constructed across Pakistan, the motorway connecting Karachi to Sukkur remained incomplete.

The CM announced that the government had allocated land for the establishment of SITE Karachi Phase-III in Keamari and Nooriabad Industrial Estate-Phase III at Nooriabad.

The event was attended by Kati Patron-in-Chief SM Tanveer, President Johar Qandhari and Deputy Patron-in-Chief Zubair Chhaya.

Meanwhile, the CM, during his meeting with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Regional Director for Pakistan and the Middle East Khawaja Aftab Ahmed, decided to collaborate for the promotion and establishment of the IT industry.

The meeting was informed that the IFC was working with the Sindh government to structure a public-private partnership project that will provide clean drinking water to nearly one million people in Karachi.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2024