HYDERABAD: The Sindh government has conveyed its serious concern and regrets to the National Highway Authority (NHA) over delay in completion of Jamshoro-Sehwan patch of the Indus Highway, seeking the NHA chairman’s intervention to ensure that the June 30 deadline is not missed.

The government contended that the statistics relating to the loss of human lives on the Indus Highway in fact represent the human cost of the NHA’s continued indifference and project’s neglect.

“The Sindh chief secretary has written a strong-worded letter to the NHA chief today on the issue of pending work of the Indus Highway where completion of a dual carriageway of a certain section was long overdue,” said a Sindh government source while sharing a copy of the letter with Dawn on Tuesday.

CS Asif Hyder Shah has brought into notice of the NHA chairman that the provincial government had fulfilled its financial obligation by depositing its committed 50pc share of Rs7bn back in April 17, 2017, but even after eight years’ passage the project still remained incomplete.

CS reminded NHA chief that “during past five years alone, non-dualisation of this road has resulted in 197 reported accidents, claiming over 156 lives and injuries to 667 others. “These statistics are not just numbers; they represent the human cost of NHA’s continued neglect,” read the strong-worded letter addressed to the NHA chief on Tuesday.

Recording his deep regret and concern, he said the Sindh government takes serious exception to the persistent and inexplicable inaction on the part of NHA in executing the aforementioned project despite repeated requests, official correspondence and high-level interventions. “This prolonged indifference has not only hindered a critical infrastructure initiative but has also led to human tragedies which could have been avoided,” the CS argued.

He told the NHA head that it was in his notice that Sindh government had fulfilled its financial obligation by depositing its committed 50pc share of Rs7 billion on April 17,2017. However, more than eight years later, the project remains incomplete.

He observed that the prime minister and Sindh chief minister have time and again emphasised the early completion of this project and during the May 6, 2024 meeting chaired by the PM, the NHA committed to completing the project by June 30, 2024.

“Yet, no meaningful progress can be witnessed on the ground. The matter was again taken up on Jan 15, 2025 during a meeting with the deputy PM where the NHA and Ministry of Communications undertook completing the project by June 2025; yet the last segment of nearly 24 kilometers is still incomplete and no major activity can be seen either,” stated the letter.

The CS contended that such disregard for public safety, high-level commitments and provincial concerns is disappointing and reflects a serious dereliction of duty on part of the project management team. Needless to say that failure to meet the timelines despite repeated commitments has eroded public trust in the prime road building authority apart from exposing thousands of commuters to serious risk, he said.

The 130-kilometre-long dual carriageway of Indus Highway, known as N-55 in motorway terminology, remained incomplete between Jamshoro and Sehwan. It was launched at a cost of Rs14bn in Dec 2017 and Sindh government had already provided Rs7bn as its 50pc share of the project’s cost on April 17, 2017.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2025