Multan road expansion project: Sector 2 to get only cosmetic treatment

Official sees political reason; Commissioner says there’s no money to acquire land.

LAHORE:

The Multan Road Widening Project has hit a snag. Sector 2 of the road will not be expanded, just re-carpeted.

The road from Thokar Niaz Beg to Samanabad Mor was to be widened in two phases. The first phase, from Thokar Niaz Beg to Scheme Mor, has been completed. The second phase involved the expansion of the stretch between Scheme Mor and Samanabad Mor. However, a project official – talking on condition of anonymity – told The Express Tribune that the original plans had been shelved. The official version is that the government doesn’t have the money but the real reason is political, the official alleged.

Rs5 billion was earmarked for the expansion. The road repair on the cards now will cost the government Rs1.5 billion.

The decision to make cosmetic changes to the second stretch was made by a steering committee formed by the chief minister. The committee is headed by MPA Mian Marghoob Ahmad. Other members include Rana Mashhood Ahmad, Mehr Ishtiaq Ahmad, Hafiz Mian Noman, Saiful Mulook, the commissioner and the DCO.

The committee recently decided to only expand the main squares: Yateem Khana Chowk and Samnabad Chowk. The stretch of road between them will not be widened.

A project official said that the government was trying to humour traders by shelving the expansion. “Many of the shops are owned by people who boast political influence. Some are owned by politicians from the ruling party,” he said.

The Project Management Unit official also said that the new plans would not address the problem of frequent traffic jams the project was initiated to end.

Commissioner Jawad Rafique Malik, the project director, denied that politics had anything to do with the change of plans. “It is because of financial constraints that the expansion can’t be done,” Malik said.

He said that the government did not have the funds to acquire commercial land required for the widening of the stretch. The commissioner also said that road rehabilitation would help in easing traffic load “considerably”. “The widening of the two intersections will help reduce clogging,” he said.

Malik said that the road work will start by late February or early March after land is acquired – for the expansion of the intersections – and relocating electricity poles from the median to the side of the road. “After that it will take another four to five months to complete the project,” the project director said.

A Lesco official said that the cost of shifting electricity poles from the median and laying a drain in the middle of the road will come to around Rs300 million.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2011.