KARACHI: Acknowledging the extensive damage caused by recent heavy rains to the road infrastructure, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday approved a plan presented by Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and announced a Rs25 billion special package for the provincial metropolis.

Informed sources said the special grant to overhaul the city’s dilapidated road infrastructure would soon be placed before the provincial cabinet for formal approval.

At a meeting held here at the CM House, Mayor Murtaza Wahab briefed the chief minister on the extent of the damage and the proposed plan for rehabilitation.

The mayor told the meeting that 315 inner city streets are severely damaged and require urgent attention. Furthermore, 60 major roads across the city were scheduled for reconstruction and the estimated cost for the entire program was approximately Rs25bn.

Tells city mayor funds are not an issue; 60 major roads, 315 internal roads and streets to be rehabilitated; execution requires formal cabinet approval

“Funds are not an issue; I want work must be done on a war footing,” CM Shah told the mayor, according to a statement issued by the CM House.

He said that the city’s roads were in a state of disrepair and that ongoing mega projects were exacerbating traffic woes. “I want development work in the city to be expedited so that the public does not have to endure further hardship,” he added.

The chief minister made it unequivocally clear that delays would not be tolerated.

He instructed that all reconstruction work must be comprehensive and that the drainage system for the 60 major roads should be constructed simultaneously alongside the roads themselves to prevent future damage.

He said that the implementation of the Safe City project had already led to a reduction in traffic accidents.

“The accelerated push for infrastructure development underscores the Sindh government’s commitment to transforming the city’s appearance and improving the quality of life for its millions of residents by the end of the current development cycle,” he added.

CM briefed on mega projects

Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Shah also briefed the chief minister on the progress of the major infrastructure projects, including the Korangi Causeway Bridge and the Shahrah-i-Bhutto Expressway.

He said that both projects were nearing completion, with sections already or imminently opening to traffic within the next two months.

The construction of the new, elevated Korangi Causeway Bridge is designed to replace the old causeway, which frequently submerged during heavy rains, causing massive traffic jams and connectivity issues for Korangi’s industrial and residential areas.

The LG minister said that the project was over 80 per cent complete. The entire Korangi Causeway Bridge is expected to be operational by December 2025 or early January 2026.

At this, the chief minister said that its completion will provide a permanent, rain-proof connection between Korangi and the rest of the city, alleviating a long-standing civic and economic problem.

About Shahrah-i-Bhutto, the CM was told that the project is approximately 82pc complete as of mid-2025, with overall progress reportedly at 78pc more recently.

The Segment I from the Shaheed-i-Millat Expressway at Qayyumabad to Quaidabad is functional. Shah Faisal Interchange, already inaugurated and opened, is serving the people going to Jinnah Terminal or to Sharea Faisal. The Segment II, which links to the M-9 Motorway, is approximately 65pc complete.

An important four-kilometre elevated section over the Malir riverbed, built to prevent the displacement of local villages, is around 48 to 50pc complete.

This 22km link road, designed to facilitate cargo movement between Port Qasim and the M-9 Motorway, was expected to be fully opened by the end of 2025, Nasir Shah told the chief minister.

This long-delayed project has also seen a recent surge in activity, particularly after the chief minister’s visit last week, and is likely to be completed by the end of December 2025, Murtaza Wahab told the chief minister.

The chief minister said that ‘after his intervention’, construction work on the BRT Red Line has recently resumed after a suspension, though the projected completion timeline has been extended to the end of 2026.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2025