KARACHI, Oct 16: With the latest construction machinery ready to be pressed into action to begin work in earnest on the flyover on Sharea Faisal at Gora Qabristan, a faster pace is required to complete the project on time.

The endeavour is already far behind its contemporary project off Shah Faisal Colony, which is proceeding at a good speed. Both projects were formally launched by President Gen Pervez Musharraf on August 14 last year.

The Sharea Faisal-Korangi Road intersection is one of the busiest spots in the city, and any obstruction to the traffic flow will result in prolonged traffic jams. And as the delay gets longer, the sufferings for those who have to use the road daily increase.

Called ‘Grade-separated intersection at Sharea Faisal and Korangi Road intersection’, the project envisages the construction of a flyover on Sharea Faisal, connecting Lines Area and Saddar with Korangi Road.

On completion, the project will ease the traffic pressure at the Gora Qabristan intersection and help eliminate the snarl-ups on both Sharea Faisal and Korangi Road.

This is one of the principal projects the city government has initiated though the PC-1, for it was prepared in 1995. Then the project was estimated to cost Rs43.38 million.

Tenders for the work were invited on Feb 15, 1996. The lowest tender was received at Rs38,973,125, which was accepted by the KMC, and the contract was awarded accordingly. The work order for it was issued on May 5, 1996. The contractors started work and they were paid Rs970,000 for the work done.

The cantonment board objected that Korangi Road fell in its jurisdiction, and that no prior approval for the project was taken from the board authorities. The work came to a standstill in the wake of this controversy.

In 1998, the Sindh government transferred Korangi Road to the KMC’s jurisdiction. It was decided in 2001 that the project would be restarted. Since the previous design of the flyover did not fulfil the requirement of the flow of traffic at the intersection, the previous work order was cancelled and tenders were reinvited for the project on a turnkey basis on the revised design.

Tenders for the project were reinvited on July 25, 2001 for a ‘Y’ shaped curved bridge with down ramps on Sharea Faisal and Mubarak Shaheed Road. The estimated cost of the project was Rs150 million, with a completion time of 24 months. Tenders were opened on Aug 6, 2001. The lowest tender was received at Rs8.95 million, while the evaluation of bids and other formalities was under process, when a construction company resorted to litigation. The court decision which came in on Sept 21, 2001, was to reinvite tenders for the project.

When fresh surveys for the project were conducted, it was noted that to make the project feasible, the present traffic flow patterns/volume dictated that the SMCHS intersection should be closed for right turns. The TEB was consulted on this matter, and it was decided by the authorities to include both intersections in the design. The concept for the project was thus revised to the construction of a semi-cloverleaf grade separation with a diverging, descending leg towards Saddar/Lines Area, which would render the intersection signal free.