Islamabad:
The Standing Committee on Economic Affairs of the National Assembly was informed Thursday that the feasibility study of the M-10 Hyderabad-Karachi motorway is at its last stages and should be completed by December.
The lower house panel was chaired by Mna Mirza Ikhtiar Baig.
The officials told the Committee that the project would cost more than 68 billion rupees and were considered a long -term solution to the congestion of Karachi trafficking. Work is also underway on the technical feasibility of the Lyari motorway, while the supply of the Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway project has already been launched, the construction should begin by June next year. During the briefing, the officials of the National Highway Authority (NHA) said that any project could not be included in the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) through the federal budget, adding that the budgetary process would begin in March.
The Committee requested a response from NHA officials on its recommendation to include the Lyari high freight corridor (LEFC) in the PSDP.
The NHA informed the Committee that the financing of the LEFC project was already provided by another institution through the Korean bank Exim, while the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) also worked on the same project. “Since the project was found possible, we have moved our attention to the bypass of the North,” said NHA officials.
The president of the Mirza Ikhtiar Baig committee said they would address the issue of the LEFC project with KPT and present themselves. He noted that the acquisition of land for the Hyderabad-Sukkur motorway remained a complicated question because provincial governments were also involved. He said the committee would add a separate note on the issue.
In addition, the Committee was informed that repair work on the Mirpurkhas-Umerkot road had been completed, while the approval of the Ranipur-Umerkot Road project was also granted. A member of the Committee inquired about the calendar for his start.
