GWADAR: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Friday inaugurated the construction work on the Turbat-Mand Road which will be built at a cost of Rs19.50 billion.

The Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) will construct the road in three years.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that the provincial government has already released Rs5 billion initially for the road project.

He said a committee, headed by Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan, would be formed to supervise the construction work and efforts will be made to complete the project within two years instead of three years.

During his speech, the chief minister also touched the issue of illegal trawlers catching fish along the Makran coast and expressed his anger over the issue.

He said if illegal fishing continued in the area, the marine life would become extinct in a few years and such activities must be strictly prevented at all costs.

On the occasion, the chief minister was briefed on the proposed shipyard site in Sarbandan, a coastal town adjacent to Gwadar.

Mr Bugti said on the occasion that detailed report should be prepared regarding the utility of the shipyard project in Sarbandan and services of a consultant should be sought to review all aspects of the project, including possible negative impact on the local population.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2024