CM orders removal of hurdles in Malir Expressway

Says he'll talk to all stakeholders to ensure timely completion of project

KARACHI:

Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar has said that he would talk to the Pakistan Railways, KE authorities, and the Ministry of Defence to remove all the bottlenecks that emerged in the ongoing Malir Expressway Project, otherwise the banks, financing the project, would hold their hand back and the cost of the project would escalate manifold.

This he said during his visit to the under-construction Malir Expressway. He was accompanied by caretaker Minister Arshad Wali Mohammad, PSCM to CM Agha Wasif and other concerned officers. The Project Director Malir Expressway briefing the CM said that the work on the project started on May 12, 2022, with a completion period of 30 months.

The Malir Expressway is 38.661 km long starting from the existing Jam Sadiq Bridge to Kathore M-9. The design speed of the expressway is 100 km/hour. The width of the carriageway is 30.9 meter and it is a six-lane, (three-into-three) lane with a 100 meter right of way. The Expressway has six interchanges, and two toll plazas and its physical progress on Segment No.1 (from Jam Sadiq interchange to 15 km- Quiadabad) is 59.8 per cent and 14.4 per cent on Segment No.2 (from 15km Quiadabad to 39km Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway).

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The CM was informed that the execution of the Jam Sadiq interchange was initially planned to start on May 24, 2022 but due to various impediments such as KE, Yellow Line interventions and SPD, the activities could not commence as planned.

The CM was also informed that after several meetings with the Yellow Line authorities, the design was finalised and agreed upon by all the concerned. He was told that the removal of KE installations crossing over Jam Sadiq bridge was still pending, due to non-payment from the Sindh government. The SPD, despite an NOC from the Ministry of Defence, is not allowing the work, even though the elevated structure is at a safe distance. The project director Niaz Soomro told the chief minister that 40 per cent of the work on EBM Interchange, and 45 per cent on Shah Faisal Interchange has been achieved.

The CM was told that an NOC from the Railways for the Quaidabad Interchange was awaited. The execution of the Quaidabad Interchange was initially planned to commence on May 24, 2022, but due to the non-issuance of NOC from the Railways, the concessionaire was unable to fulfil their obligations according to the planned milestones.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2023.