KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has asked the federal government to hand over Lyari Expressway to the provincial government so that it can be open for heavy traffic.

The chief minister issued these directives while presiding over a joint meeting of National Highway Authority and provincial Works & Services to review the progress of various road sector projects being executed by the NHA.

During the meeting, the CM urged the federal government to hand over Lyari Expressway to the provincial government so that it can be open for heavy traffic apart from carrying out its repair and maintenance.

Construction of Interchange at M9

The CM said that the substantial completion of the M9 – N5 Link Road Project was achieved in July 2023, with 7.2km out of a 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 Sindh government. “After detailed discussions, NHA told the Sindh government that it [NHA] is bound to get any new infrastructure development inside the Right of Way (ROW) of M-9. Subsequently, the MoU was signed at approximate cost including escalation charges and NHA charges between the Works Dept and NHA for the construction of an Interchange at M9 for Rs3.5 billion in February 2024.

Murad urged the NHA to revisit the cost of the M9 interchange as the provincial government has to bear a huge burden as the cost is exorbitantly high. At this, the NHA chairman assured the chief minister that his technical team would reconsider the construction cost.