Sindh Local Government Minister said the second phase of the under-construction Shahrah-e-Bhutto Expressway (Malir Expressway) from Karachi Airport to Quaidabad will be opened for vehicular traffic next month. The Local Government Minister announced this on Tuesday while briefing media persons while inspecting phase two of the under-construction Shahrah-e-Bhutto Expressway. Ghani told media persons that a fully completed expressway having a length of 36 kilometers, whose construction cost is Rs 54 billion, would be opened for traffic by December this year. He informed journalists that the second phase of the expressway was 15 kilometers long, including a four-kilometer-long overhead bridge. He said the largest girders in the construction history of Karachi were being used to build this overhead bridge.
The Local Government Minister recalled that earlier it had been announced that the second phase of the Malir Expressway would be completed by March this year. The completion of phase two of the expressway project had been delayed due to slowed construction during Ramazan-ul-Mubarak and upcoming Eidul Fitr holidays. Ghani assured media persons that the entire expressway would be completed by December 2025. He said the completion of the second phase would facilitate traffic going to the Malir and Thatta areas. Answering a question, he said the stage hadn’t come for the Pakistan Peoples Party ruling in Sindh to take to the streets to protest against the construction of new canals on the Indus River. He said the PPP had opposed the plan to construct new canals at every relevant forum. He said that PPP had a clear-cut stance against the canals’ project.
Ghani told media persons that PPP wouldn’t allow the construction of new canals as it wouldn’t just create a water shortage in Sindh but also cause irrigation problems for the existing farmlands in Punjab. He said that there was no valid cause available to construct the new canals. He said the PPP would continue to use every legal and constitutional forum to oppose the plan to build new canals. He, however, said the PPP would avoid confrontation on this issue with the center.
The Local Government Minister said the federal government had also sensed the gravity of the situation regarding the construction of new canals as the federal ministers had announced holding talks with the PPP on this issue. He said the relevant authorities shouldn’t implement the plan to build new canals due to a lack of consensus on this issue. He recalled that earlier consensus hadn’t been developed on the controversial Kalabagh Dam project.
Answering another question, he appealed to the Sindh Governor to use his influence and persuade the federal government to invest in the development of Karachi.
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