Despite sharing 50pc cost work on dualisation of Indus Highway goes slow: Murad

F.P. Report

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that work on dualization of Indus Highway was going on at a snail pace though the provincial government has already paid 50 percent estimated cost to the project to the federal government.

This he said while talking to Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani who called on him along with two senators, Ahmed Khan Baloch and khuda Babar and Mirza Mohammad Afridi here at CM House.

Chairman Senate told the chief minister that through media he was learning about growing road accidents on the Indus highway which were claiming innocent live every day. At this the chief minister said that with his personnel efforts the project of dualisation of Indus Highway from Jamshoro to Sehwan, about 108 km, was approved at Rs14 billion in 2017. The then federal government through National Highway Authority (NHA) launched the project 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 road is disappointing,” he said and added as a matter of fact the project was scheduled to be completed within 18 month.

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 latter, 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 a Rs48 billion project lunched by the federal government but due to delay in its completion its cost has increased to rs60 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. Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani said that he would take up grievances of the provincial government win the Senate committee and would get these projects completed.

Chairman Senate 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 that if he would visit by road he would and his delegation would enjoy the travel. “We have constructed excellent road from Karachi to Thatta and then to Badin and upto Thar road is of best quality,” he said and added the provincial government has constructed two bridges on River Indus in Thatta and Sujawal districts, roads, airport in Islamkot and have connected Thar with internal roads.

“Now, Thar gives a look of a well-developed district,” he said.