Hope at last: Five years past deadline, Lyari Expressway inches closer to completion

Federal govt releases Rs200 million for the resettlement of affected families.

KARACHI: As Karachi continues to expand eastward and a significant chunk of its lower-income population moves further away from the city centre, all eyes are set on the government to provide a sustainable transport network that will enable these inhabitants to commute to the commercial centres.

The government, for its part, has planned several projects to develop such a transport network in the ever-expanding city. These include the Malir motorway, the elevated expressway on Sharae Faisal and the elevated Lyari Expressway that would connect Sohrab Goth to District West of the city.

The latter, a 16.5 kilometre, eight-lane expressway was started in 2001 but has been stuck in limbo since 2004 due to shortage of funds and other technical difficulties. Currently, only a 2.2-kilometre-long portion of the northbound track remains unfinished.



"The main hindrance in the completion of the Lyari expressway was the rehabilitation of the affected people," explained Karachi commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui. "Now, the federal government has released Rs200 million for the purpose." The commissioner added that a grant of Rs500 million will be released after the completion of the resettlement so that the National Highway Authority can restart the construction.

Siddiqui said the project will greatly benefit from the government's concerted efforts to improve the traffic system in the city. "All relevant departments and agencies should play their role in realising this dream so that the project is completed as soon as possible," he said.

The Lyari Expressway project was started in 2002 but has hit major snags on the way due to the shortage of funds needed to resettle the affected families. The southbound section of the expressway, from Sohrab Goth to Mauripur Road, has already been completed and is now in use.

District East additional deputy commissioner Syed Shujat Hussain, who is part of the rehabilitation process being conducted by the commissioner's office, said that the Lyari Development Authority and the Malir Development Authority, have also been directed to procure land for the resettlement. "We are preparing a new list of the evacuees as the previous one has been canceled," he said.

"Each affected person will get Rs50,000 and an 80-square-yard plot as compensation," he said, adding that it has also been decided to complete the resettlement work by June 3.

The Lyari Expressway is a highway being constructed along the Lyari river and is designed to ease the traffic congestion in the city and provide relief for daily commuters along the route. The project was initially scheduled to be completed by December 2009 but work was stopped after the completion of 67 per cent of the highway. It will have two interchanges, five overpasses and five underpasses. Once complete, the traffic volume is estimated at 34,000 vehicles daily.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2015.