One track of Karachi's Submarine Chowrangi underpass to be opened Nov 15

CM vows to make Karachi one of the most beautiful cities in the country

KARACHI: The completion of the first phase of the Karachi Package and initiation of the second phase will change the face of the city, promised Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

During a meeting on Wednesday to review the progress of the Karachi package, he said the city has already become peaceful and now it will become one of the most beautiful cities in the country.

“The completion of the underpass at Submarine Chowrangi has taken a long time. It must be completed soon,” said Shah, expressing concern over the slow pace of work.

In response, Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro said that he had visited the underpass and learned that one track would be open for traffic on November 15.

Karachi Project Director Niaz Soomro assured the chief minister that the track would be opened as Shoro had said and promised that work on the other track would be started as soon as possible.



Informing the meeting about the progress on the bridge at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gizri Boulevard, Shoro said the project would be completed at a cost of Rs700 million. All its legal formalities have been completed, he assured.

The chief minister directed Soomro to start work by November 15. “I want to lay its foundation stone,” he said.

Soomro said that the technical evaluation report has been uploaded on the Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority’s website and work would be started in November, on target.

While giving briefings about the projects, officials said they will start construction of various other projects in November. This includes the construction of the road from Fawara Chowk to Garden via Abdullah Haroon Road and back to Fawara Chowk via Zaibunnisa Street. For this, the government has allocated Rs650 million.

Other projects include construction of the road from Tank Chowk to the Super Highway via Thado Nalla at a cost of Rs650 million. Prequalification for the project has been completed, said the officials. The reconstruction of Tipu Sultan Road from Sharae Faisal to Karsaz at a cost of Rs280 million, construction of a bridge at the intersection of Tipu Sultan and Khalid Bin Waleed roads at Shaheed-e-Millat Road at a cost of Rs1.5 billion and widening of Stadium Road from University Road to Rashid Minhas Road at a cost of Rs270 million.



Construction of remodeling of 12000 Road in Landhi Korangi at a cost of Rs1.5 billion and the improvement plan for the Rs240 million roads around the Cantt Railway Station are also on the agenda.

The chief minister said the two most important projects that will affect the image of the city are those at the Cantt Station and airport. When people from other cities and countries land at our airport or step out of Cantt Station they see the poor state of our roads and form a poor impression of our city, he said. “It is most important for me to develop both these areas,” he told participants of the meeting.

The chief minister said that he has a beautification plan for all flyovers and bridges in the city. The flyover at Jinnah Terminal is our top priority, he clarified.

Work on storm water drains from Star Gate to Chakora Nalla and Sharae Faisal at a cost of Rs200 million and from Hassan Sqaure to the Lyari River at a cost of Rs70 million will be started by the beginning of November.

Shah directed Soomro to expedite the work on the first phase of the Karachi package.

Among others who attended the meeting included Planning and Development Minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Shoro, Planning and Development Chairperson Mohammad Waseem, Principal Secretary to the CM Sohail Rajput and Soomro.