Hyderabad to get two more peripheral roads

Parallel roads along Pinyari Canal will ease inter-city traffic congestion, connect to rural towns

HYDERABAD:

As part of the provincial government's plans to build peripheral roads in Hyderabad encircling the city, the foundation stone for two vital carriageways connecting one north-eastern edge of the city with another were laid on Wednesday.

The Sindh Works and Services Minister Ali Hassan Zardari, whose department is sponsoring the projects, accompanied by Mayor Kashif Ali Shoro performed the ceremony for construction of a 9.8km-long road and a 7.4km-long one.

Both the parallel running roads are being built on either sides of the Pinyari Canal, also known as Old Phuleli. The roads will connect Ghangra Mori, which is an intersection for several former rural towns which have become part of the city now. Morvoer, these two roads will connect Hyderabad's industrial zone, to Hyderabad Bypass and the localities even beyond.

The roads after completion will provide bypass routes to residents of formerly rural Hyderabad, City taluka, Latifabad and Qasimabad in addition to the people living in neighbouring districts of Hyderabad to avoid being stuck on the traffic clogged roads. The flow of traffic on the existing roads is also expected to ease.

The minister informed that Rs1,003 million have been set aside for the 3km first phase of the road which will run along the canal's left bank while Rs1,185 million have been earmarked for the right bank side road's 3.5km stretch. The former road spans 9.8kms and the latter to 7.4kms.

The project, being executed by the Provincial Highways Division Hyderabad, will cost Rs334.34 million per km on the left bank and Rs338.6 million per km on the right bank.

The schemes were approved under the Annual Development Plan 2025-26. One project has been given a 24-month deadline and the other 36-month.

He told that 90% of Hyderabad's roads are constructed by his department. The mayor, meanwhile, said the 1.5 million population of the city will benefit from the two roads. He said the existing Kotri Bridge has become worn out while at the same time traffic volume on that narrow bridge, which is also a railway bridge, is increasing with each passing day.

CM's Special Assistant Abdul Jabbar Khan and Town Chairman Manthar Jatoi also expressed their views on the occasion. Although the government has been adding new roads while renovating the old ones in Hyderabad, the pace of construction has always seemed to be slower. Moreover, the post-construction lookafter of the roads also lacks.

The 13km stretch of Autobahn Road to Hala Naka, where work commenced in October 2023, was an example of the delays.

The partial ring road connecting the Kotri Barrage's bridge to the Kotri Bridge via Hyderabad bypass and Qasimabad taluka reflects the post-construction neglect.