Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Central Deputy Information Secretary and Sindh Minister for Information Sharjeel Inam Memon on Monday said the current PPP government has decided to provide every basic communication facility to the common man.
In this regard, he said, the government had spread an expansive network of roads throughout the province.
This he said while informing media persons about the various mega development projects undertaken in Sindh during the last five years. He said that during the last five years, approximately Rs 59 billion worth mega development projects were carried out by the Sindh government.
He added that development projects were undertaken both in the highways sector as well as in the buildings sectors.
He further said that the Sindh Works and Service Department had constructed 5,726 kilometres of new roads, 2,968 kilometres of existing roads have been rehabilitated while 198 bridges have also been constructed in various districts of Sindh province.
Sharjeel said these projects have not only been contributing to the development of the province but were also improving the living conditions of the common people. He added in his statement that for the first time during the five years of the current government, under the Public Private Partnership Programme (PPP) in infrastructure of the roads, the Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas Dual Carriageway of 58.7 kilometres have been constructed. He added that under the same programme Jhirk-Mullah Katiar Bridge was also being constructed with the cost of Rs. 1094 million, Hyderabad-Tando Muhamaad Khan road of 51 kilometres and Karachi-Thatta Dual carriageway were being also taken up under the existing programme.
Furthermore, he said that during the devastating floods of 2010, about 1,900 kilometres of roads were restored at a cost of Rs 554 million and reconstruction of about 950 kilometres of roads with the assistance of Asian Development Bank (ADB) soft loan of $ 131 million had also been constructed. Besides this, 665 kilometres of roads have also been constructed on the proposals of Sindh Members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) with a cost of Rs 2,653 million.
Moreover, the minister said that with an additional cost of Rs 2.408 billion, the 90 kilometres coastal highway had also been erected at Ghaggar Phatak (Keti Bunder).
The Sindh Works and Services Department had also constructed 30 kilometres of Thatta-Sujawal road under the ADB assistance while further 134 kilometres road at Nawabshah-Padidan-Ranipur road was also being constructed under foreign assistance. Meanwhile with the assistance of Japan International Corporation Agency another 500 kilometres of Rural Access Roads with the cost of Rs 8875 million was also being constructed, he concluded.
