KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah presided over the 11th meeting of the Provincial Coordination & Implementation Committee (PCIC) and decided to take over the Karachi Urban Transport Company (KUTC) to start the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) Project. They also resolved land issues of Malir Expressway to speed up work on the project.
The PCIC meeting was attended by provincial ministers Imtiaz Aghmed Shaikh, Sharjeel Inam Memon, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Special Assistant to CM Syed Qasim Naveed, Corps Commander Karachi Lt General Babar Iftikhar, Chief Secretary Dr. Mohammad Sohail Rajput, Chairman P&D Hassan Naqvi, PSCM Fayaz Hussain Jatoi, Commissioner Karachi Mohammad Iqbal Memon, MD SSWMB Imtiaz Ahmed Shah, and others.
Regarding the KCR project, the Chief Minister was informed that the Karachi Urban Transport Company (KUTC) would undertake it, but it was still under the control of the federal government. The CM decided to talk to the Prime Minister to take over the KUTC to fulfill the documentation requirements of the KCR project.
Regarding the Malir Expressway, the Chief Minister directed the DS Railways to resolve the issue of demanding equal value of land from the Sindh government for handing over the Right of Way (RoW) of KCR. He emphasized that the Sindh government had already given land to the railway authorities for railway purposes, and the same track would be used for the KCR project.
The Chief Minister also discussed the progress of the National Railways Administration (NRA), China’s updated feasibility study of the KCR Project, which has been completed and sent to Chinese authorities for a Framework agreement to start the project.
As for the Malir Expressway, it is a 3×3 lane, 38.75 KM high-speed controlled access road starting from Jam Sadiq Bridge and ending before the Kathore interchange near M-9. The project has two segments, 15 and 24 km respectively, with a total construction time of 30 months. The first section from Jam Sadiq Bridge to Quaidabad is expected to be completed by the end of the current year.
For the second segment, which passes through densely populated areas like Samo, Lasi, and Shafi Goths, the Chief Minister directed the P&D dept not to disturb the people living in the villages but to construct a 2 km elevated structure (bridge) on the left side of the villages on the existing alignment, bypassing Samo, Lasi, and Old Shafi Goths to avoid land acquisition and relocation.
The Chief Minister also discussed the Link Road project, which connects National Highway N5 to Motorway M-9. The CM directed the Works & Service dept to coordinate with the PPP unit and resolve all the issues to start work promptly.
The meeting also discussed Mass Transit Projects, including the BRT Yellow Line and Redline. The CM instructed the Mass Transit dept to expedite the documentation and start work on the Yellow Line project with the assistance of the World Bank.
As for the Redline project, which is being assisted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Chief Minister urged the Mass Transit dept to speed up work on Lot-I & II and issue the tender document at the earliest for Lot-III.
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