Sindh’s chief minister has urged the federal government to hand over the Lyari Expressway to the provincial government so that it can be opened for heavy traffic, apart from carrying out its repair and maintenance.
CM Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday chaired a joint meeting of the National Highway Authority (NHA) and the provincial works & services department to review the progress of various road sector projects being executed by the NHA.
M9 interchange
Shah said that the substantial completion of the M9-N5 link road project was achieved in July 2023, with 7.2km of the total 21km of the road open for traffic with partial toll.
The remaining work — the construction of the interchange at M9 — was initially under the scope of the provincial government. After detailed discussions, the NHA told the provincial government that the NHA is bound to get any new infrastructure development inside the right of way (ROW) of M9.
Subsequently, this February an agreement was signed with an approximate cost, including escalation charges and NHA charges, between the works department and the NHA for the construction of an interchange at M9 at Rs3.5 billion.
Shah urged the NHA to revisit the cost of the M9 interchange, as the provincial government had to bear a huge burden because the cost is exorbitantly high. The NHA chairman assured the CM that his technical team would reconsider the construction cost.
N5 de-federalisation
Shah said the NHA had handed over the Karachi-Thatta-Hyderabad section (N5) to the provincial government in January 2012. In the handing-over letter the NHA had said the road would not be de-federalised.
The CM urged the NHA to de-federalise N5, as the provincial government had constructed the dual carriageway at N5 from Karachi to Thatta for Rs8.2 billion under public-private partnership, and was unable to collect project revenues such as commercial revenues, issue NOCs to utility providers, etc.
He said that apart from toll collection, there were other revenues from utility providers, ROW fees, and NOC charges from filling stations, so it was imperative to seek complete ownership of the road. The NHA chairman said that it was a policy decision, and would be discussed with the ministry.
Jamshoro-Sehwan road
Shah said that work on the 130km Jamshoro-Sehwan road was started by the NHA in 2018-19. Initially, it was an asset of the NHA, but the provincial government had also contributed Rs7 billion for its rehabilitation. The CM said that the progress of the project was terribly slow.
“The divider is low in height (like M9), causing severe glare of light/disturbance to opposite side traffic, so it is imperative to increase the height of the divider in order to decrease the glare of light/disturbance for the opposite side travellers.”
He said that the straightening of curves at some locations between Jamshoro-Sehwan must be eased out or redesigned to avoid accidents, especially the curve near Amri and the curve at Peer Mard in the Bagho Thoro area.
According to him, the rate of accidents per year on this particular road is higher than that of the whole country. He claimed that this road has taken the lives of hundreds of travellers as well as made hundreds of lives incapacitated.
Shah said that at various locations it has been observed that the grades, cross-sections and slopes were not designed well, resulting in an accumulation of water on the road, so the newly built road in some portions has been damaged.
The NHA chairman assured the CM that all the issues of design and defects would be addressed, and work on the road had been accelerated to ensure its earliest completion.
Mirpurkhas-Umerkot road
Shah discussed the 149km Mirpurkhas-Umerkot Road to Khokhrapar. He said that the work on 67.4km from Umerkot to Khokhrapar was in progress and being executed by the NHA.
He raised the issue that the road from Raja Rasti to Umerkot (16km) has been abandoned. The city portion of Umerkot (0.63km) was also unattended. The CM said that the road from Umerkot to Khokhrapar has been severely damaged due to the recent rains, which not only increased operational and maintenance costs of vehicles but also increased travel time from Umerkot to Khokhrapar.
He said his government intends to dualise the road, so it is the need of the hour that the road be handed over to the provincial government. The NHA chairman said that the CM’s proposal would be taken up with the ministry, and the decision would be conveyed to the provincial government.