Work to begin on Malir Expressway next month

Construction work for 39 kilometre-long Malir Expressway will begin in the second week of November, announced the Sindh government on Thursday, while also approving the construction of a link road for Korangi.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah made these decisions during a meeting held at the CM’s House on the day to review projects being launched under the public-private partnership model.

The investment department briefed the meeting that a concession agreement had been executed, while an independent auditor and engineer have been appointed for the project and designs are being finalised.

The Malir Expressway is to be a 39km-long road constructed along the Malir River. It will be a four-lane carriageway and is expected to be completed in 36 months. Shah directed the investment department to finish construction in two years.

The project, which includes three flyovers and eight underpasses, is to start from KPT Interchange, cross through Qayyumabad and conclude at the Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway near Kathore. Giving the investment department the nod to mobilise machinery, Shah said he would lay the foundation stone for the project in a month.

The CM further approved the construction of a 12km-long link road for Korangi, which would begin from Creek Avenue, Korangi Causeway intersection and end at PAF Airmen Golf Club. It is to be a four-lane link road to Korangi aligned along the causeway and Malir River.

Shah directed the planning and development department to complete geotechnical investigations and traffic surveys and submit them to decide whether the project would be taken under public-private partnership model or otherwise.

A municipal wastewater recycling plant under the annual development programme was also discussed, which aims to supply 50 million gallons daily (MGD) of recycled water in two phases.

The 30MGD water supply project entails setting up a bulk water transmission system from Dhabeji to Korangi Crossing to supply 30MGD additional water - 10MGD to Dhabeji Industrial Zone and 20MGD to South district. A combined 50MGD is expected through the Haroonabad Wastewater Treatment Plant for SITE Industrial Area.

The project includes the construction of a conduit, pumping station, pipeline, water reservoir and a filtration plant among other requirements. Water is to be supplied through the existing networks of the Clifton Cantonment Board and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board.

The meeting was also apprised that the KWSB was interested in setting up a wastewater treatment plant at TP-IV, for which feasibility studies are being carried out.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2020.