Lyari expressway to open on Independence Day, assures standing committee

Land was handed over to FWO on March 13 for completion of construction

KARACHI: The Lyari Expressway will be open for public by August 14, assured the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Tuesday.

On a visit to the Lyari Expressway, Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, federal minister Sheikh Aftab and Karachi Commissioner Ejaz Ahmed Khan, along with other members of the National Assembly, assured that work on the Lyari Expressway would be completed by August 13 and it would be opened for public on Independence Day.

The Standing Committee was informed that all the encroachment for the construction of the second track of the Lyari Expressway has been cleared.



On March 13, the land was handed over to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) so the construction work could be completed.

"With the construction of Lyari Expressway, the traffic woes of this city will be resolved," said Akhtar, commenting that it [the expressway] was not the Great Wall of China that it has taken such a long time for completion.

Green Line BRT

The committee also visited the construction site for the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), which is being funded by the federal government.



The state-of-the-art construction of the Board Office Interchange will be open for traffic by May 15, the committee and Akhtar were informed. Even the construction work at Nazimabad and Lasbela would be completed before Ramazan.

It was also decided by the Standing Committee that the Karachi mayor will now be a member of the board of the Green Line BRT. On this, Akhtar thanked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for taking him on board.

Motorway

During a visit to the Karachi-Hyderabad motorway, Aftab said construction for an area of only 6.5 kilometres was left, which would be completed by the year end. He assured that once the motorway from Karachi to Islamabad is completed, the distance between the two cities could then be covered in no more than 12 hours.



Akhtar said he would help the National Highway Authority, which is under the federal government, clean the encroachments near Sohrab Goth area, construct parks near the motorway and plant trees.
Commenting on the Sindh government, Akhtar said the government was busy encroaching public land rather than constructing parks, nullahs and roads in the city.