The Centre and Sindh on Saturday came face-to-face on the much-delayed Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway project along with the reconstruction of the Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway, with the latter accusing the former of dragging its feet when it comes to development projects in the province.
Addressing his post-budget news conference in Karachi on Saturday, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said, "Sindh is not a colony of the federation as the province is not getting its full share from the Centre".
Putting up a long list of complaints against the Centre, the chief minister said that first Rs30 billion were allocated for the Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway and now the allocation was reduced to Rs15 billion. "If the trend persists, this project will not be completed even in the next 12 years."
Commenting on the chief minister's comments, Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan expressed that as the federal minister, he takes responsibility for the past year only, but does not want to comment on the inaction of previous governments regarding the construction of the Sukkur, Hyderabad and Karachi motorways.
He said the construction of the Karachi-Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorways would commence this year and added that the Islamic Development Bank has expressed willingness to fund the project, while the final decision regarding the loan approval is expected in September this year after its board meeting, said a press release issued here.
He stressed the corporate importance of connecting Karachi Port to the National Motorway network, saying that without this connection, the motorway's utility for import, export and business would be of no use.
He pointed out that different political parties, including the PPP, remained in power, but unfortunately, several years were wasted due to the failure to initiate these critical infrastructure projects like the motorways of Karachi-Hyderabad-Sukkur.
Abdul Aleem Khan reaffirmed the federal government's commitment to construct not only the Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway but also the Hyderabad-Karachi section as well while the aim is to complete the entire route within two years.
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