KARACHI: Work on the dualisation of Indus Highway is going on at a snail’s pace despite the provincial government has paid the 50 percent estimated project cost to the federal government.
This was informed by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah while talking to Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani who called on him, along with two senators Ahmed Khan Baloch and Khuda Babar, and Mirza Mohammad Afridi here at Chief Minister’s House.
The Senate chairman told the chief minister that through media, he had learnt about growing road accidents on the Indus Highway which were claiming innocent lives every day. At this, the chief minister said that with his personal efforts, the Indus Highway project from Jamshoro to Sehwan, about 108 km, was approved at Rs14 billion in 2017.
The then federal government through National Highway Authority (NHA) launched it when the provincial government had shared Rs7 billion as 50 percent of its total cost. “We have already released Rs7 billion in April 2017 to start the project, but the pace of work on the highway is disappointing,” he said and added, as a matter of fact, the project was scheduled to be completed within 18 months.
Shah said that he had offered the federal government to give Rs7 billion back to the provincial government and also give its 50 percent share of Rs7 billion, and we [provincial government] would complete the project on war footings. He added that later, Federal Minister for Communication Murad Saeed assured him that work on the project would be accelerated, but still, the result was not encouraging.
Discussing the Nai Gaj, the chief minister said that it was originally an Rs48 billion project lunched by the federal government but due to delay in its completion, its cost had increased to Rs 60 billion. “We have already requested the federal government to complete it so that its purpose of irrigating the lands in the area can be achieved,” he told the chairman.
Sanjrani said that he would take up grievances of the provincial government to the Senate committee and would get the projects completed. The chairman congratulated the chief minister on launching of first-ever indigenous Thar Coal Power Project. At this, the chief minister invited him and his senators to visit Thar and see the development efforts of the provincial government.
The chairman accepted the invitation of the chief minister and said he would lead a delegation of the senators from other provinces and visit Thar by road. The chief minister said: “If he visits by road, he and his delegation will enjoy the travel.
We have constructed an excellent road from Karachi to Thatta, then to Badin and up to Thar road with the best quality,” he said and added the provincial government had constructed two bridges on River Indus in Thatta and Sujawal districts, roads, the airport in Islamkot and have connected Thar with internal roads. “Now, Thar gives a look of a well-developed district,” he concluded.
