Sindh’s portion of motorway delayed: Murad

SUKKUR: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah expressed his concerns over undue delay in Sindh’s portion of 306-km Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway, being constructed under the CPEC and PSDP projects.

While talking to Federal Minister for Communication Asad Mahmood on the launch of 306-km Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway on Friday, the Sindh CM expressed his reservations saying that the Peshawar-Sukkur Motorway was constructed timely but the portion in Sindh was unnecessarily being delayed.

“Since it has become too late, therefore my contention is that the federal government should ensure financial closure of the project within next six months so that it can be completed by March 2023,” the chief minister said.

Chairman NHA Capt (retd) M Khurram briefed the meeting that the motorway would be a six-lane 306km long rout with 15 interchanges, a bridge over Indus, and 19 overpasses. It was pointed out that over 7,500 acres of land have been required in seven districts, including Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Matiari, Benazirabad, Naushahro Feroze, Khairpur, and Sukkur, for the project.

Federal Minister Asad Mahmood assured the Sindh chief minister that the project would be launched well in time by taking necessary measures, adding that the provincial government would be kept in the loop in every development of the project.

Jamshoro-Sehwan dual carriageway:

Giving the background of the Jamshoro-Sehwan dual carriageway, the CM said he had discussed the project with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif during his visit to Karachi on April 13, 2022. He added that Jamshoro-Sehwan road belonged to the National Highway Authority.

He said the provincial government took up the matter with the federal government for converting the road into a dual carriageway in a meeting held with chairman NHA on March 22, 2017. He added that he agreed to bear a significant share, amounting to Rs7 billion of the total cost of the project for dualization of Jamshoro-Sehwan carriageway.