Urban environment : Two underpasses, one flyover part and parcel of Bahria Town project

KMC administrator says the three projects will ease traffic burden in the surrounding areas.

KARACHI: For those who thought Karachi had exhausted its capacity for flyovers and underpasses, it will come as news that two underpasses and a flyover, costing Rs1.89 billion, are going to be built near Abdullah Shah Ghazi's shrine in Clifton.

The administrator of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Rauf Akhtar Farooqui, unveiled the three projects, which will be built at Abdullah Shah Ghazi's shrine, AT Naqvi Chowk and Park Towers, respectively, at a press conference in the committee room of the KMC on Wednesday.



The administrator said Bahria Town would finance these three projects to reduce the traffic burden around the shrine, Park Towers, 26th Street and Muhammad Bin Qasim Park.

"We have held 13 meetings with representatives of the Bahria Town project and convinced them to finance these projects for the good of the city," he added.

"We have already told them that since they are building the Bahria Town Icon Tower near Jehangir Kothari Parade, it is their responsibility to construct the bridge and underpasses to avoid gridlocks in the area."

Earlier, officials of Bahria Town wanted to widen the roads but our officials suggested that these projects would be more beneficial, he added.

"We have assured the citizens of Karachi that these projects, installed with modern security systems, would be finished within four months," he informed.

He was of the view that this is the first of its kind project in the history of Karachi and the KMC.

The projects are being outsourced to Bahria Town, which is not only providing all the funds but has also taken responsibility of the design and the execution of the projects.

He said the flyover will be constructed in front of Park Towers in Clifton and the underpasses will be built near Kothari Parade. According to him, these constructions would not encroach on the land of any amenity plots as the KMC has strict by-laws in this regard. He added that these projects had been conceived by the KMC after studying the traffic pressure on various arteries in Clifton.

Talking about other projects, the administrator said that some new projects had also been initiated like the flyovers at Malir Halt, Malir 15 and Shaheen Complex and the Mehran hotel underpass.

Informing about the encroachment drive, he said the KMC has carried out successful operations against encroachments in different areas of Karachi, including Empress Market, Sohrab Goth, Liaquatabad and Tariq Road. But, unfortunately, these areas were again encroached by the land mafia due to the incompetency of other departments.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2014.