Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has asked the provincial local government department to expedite work on the Malir Motorway so that one section of the project from Korangi to Quaidabad can be completed by December of this year.
A day earlier, CM Shah, Information and Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Karachi mayor-elect Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Special Assistant to the CM Syed Qasim Naveed, and deputy mayor-elect Salman Abdullah Murad toured the under-construction Malir Motorway.
They visited the Malir Motorway, which runs 39.4 kilometers from Korangi to Kathore. On the project site were Karachi Commissioner Muhammad Iqbal Memon, LG Secretary Najam Shah, Project Director Niaz Soomro, and Special Secretary Finance Asad Zamin.
The Malir Motorway project is being built along the Malir River’s left bank to provide an access-controlled high-speed motorway. It will be six lanes wide with three-meter shoulders and a dual carriageway. The motorway was planned with a main motorway speed of 100kph and interchange speeds of 50kph.
The project begins on Korangi Road, just before the Jam Sadiq Bridge. The KPT Flyover will serve as an interchange for the Jam Sadiq Bridge. It will start at Korangi and end in Shah Faisal Colony (Quaidabad).
Soomro informed the CM that the motorway project had two components or packages: Jam Sadiq to Quaidabad, where work had been finished up to 38%, and Quaidabad to Kathore, where work had been done up to 15%.
The CM was informed that the project includes six interchanges and six straight bridges, all of which are now under construction. The CM stated that once the project is completed, traffic congestion on the city’s roads will be under control.
The project would shorten the journey from Karachi to Jamshoro and possibly up to Thatta by approximately 40 km.
The CM stated that once completed, the Malir Motorway project would usher in a new age of development in the areas of District Malir, particularly Memon Goth and its surrounding towns.
CM Shah also visited the damaged weir at Razak Goth, Malir River RD (reduced distance)-1. In the Malir River, the irrigation department has built several weirs to avoid flooding, measure water flow, and hold water for agricultural and other reasons.
Tamizuddin Khero, Irrigation Secretary, informed the CM that the floods of 2020 had damaged three weirs on the Malir River. He stated that the irrigation department had created an Rs13 billion plan to repair and reconstruct them.
The CM stated that he would arrange cash for the restoration of the damaged weirs and asked the irrigation secretary to submit the scheme for approval to the planning and development department.
He went on to say that the weirs were especially vital for the people who lived along the river’s embankment. “We will provide water supply schemes to the villages in the areas, and the water stored in the weirs will be available for this purpose.”
Trash on Road
The CM also asked the district administration and police in all Karachi districts to confiscate vehicles seen dumping trash or debris from buildings along the city’s roads.
He emphasized the importance of arresting the drivers of such vehicles, as well as the contractors if they are detected dumping debris or rubbish. “This is unacceptable, and I would take strict action against the administration and the police if debris was found dumped along the roads.”
While visiting many districts, particularly Korangi and Malir, and discovering waste and trash thrown along Korangi Road, he issued these directions to the commissioners.
The CM exited his vehicle and summoned the deputy commissioner, superintendent of police, and deputy inspector general (DIG) to voice his disgust with the rubbish strewn across the road.
He asked the city commissioner to give directions to all DCs, DIGs, and SSPs to take harsh action against cars, their owners, and contractors discovered dumping rubbish on municipal streets.
“I will not tolerate negligence in this matter,” he added, adding that his government is spending millions of rupees to clean the city and move the rubbish to landfill sites, yet people are dumping trash, construction materials, and debris along the highways.
