Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway: 54 fuel stations working without permit

Parliamentary panel voices concern over ‘illegal’ installations

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel has voiced objections over construction of 54 fuel stations on the Hyderabad-Karachi Motorway (M9) without no objection certificates (NOC) from the National Highway Authority (NHA).

On Monday, the sub-committee of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Communications expressed serious reservations over these “illegal” installations and directed the NHA to investigate the case and take necessary action.



The sub-committee members said the construction was a clear violation of the rules and all such encroachment should be removed by the NHA.

While briefing the members about the first phase of the project, M-9 Project Manager Iqbal Ahmed said 86 fuel stations in total were established along the motorway with only 32 of them obtaining the NHA approval. The first phase of construction is likely to complete in 30 months.

One fuel pump, Iqbal said, has been leased out by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) at Al-Asif Square near Sohrab Goth. “The Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) is not responsible of removing the encroachment as it is the prime responsibility of the NHA to clear encroachments,” he contended.

In response, sub-committee convener Ramesh Lal questioned: “How it is possible people are running their businesses without having the legal authority and no one is stopping them?”

Lal also held the FWO responsible for all the road accidents taking place due to the ongoing construction of the 136-km, six-lane motorway between Karachi and Hyderabad. The highway project costing Rs44.251 billion starts from Sohrab Goth and ends at Jamshoro.



“The condition of the unpaved road is pathetic and it is full of dirt all the time, which ultimately results in fatal road accidents,” he said. “It was the prime responsibility of the FWO to construct a concrete service road before starting the construction process.”

FWO’s Bridger (retd) Tahir Siddiqui said the construction of M-9 was a challenge as the vehicle flow on the highway was over 25,000 vehicles per day.

But Lal also expressed concern over the absence of motorway police on the road to ensure smooth traffic flow and to avoid road accidents.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2016.