KARACHI: The Sindh government has announced plans to construct an expressway linking Karachi Port terminal to Jam Sadiq Bridge.
The decision for the project was made during a session of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Board, chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
“The 12.5-kilometer stretch of the road will be elevated, while the remaining portion will be underground,” said the Chief Minister. “The expressway from the KPT terminal will link with the Malir Expressway at Jam Sadiq Bridge.”
The CM instructed the Sindh local government department to finalize the project in collaboration with the PPP unit. “The government will construct the road under the PPP mode using its own resources,” the Chief Minister said.
Murad Ali Shah stated that the NDD Technology Park is also being developed under the public-private partnership, with the Sindh government allocating 1.7 billion rupees for the project.
“Following the MoU, the agreement for the technology park should be signed within the current month,” the Chief Minister said.
The PPP policy board also approved a reforestation project covering 100,000 hectares of land in Sindh. It was also decided to seek assistance from the Asian Development Bank for reforestation on 88,022 hectares.
“According to a 2017 WWF report, Pakistan has forests covering six percent of its land, while the minimum forest cover should be 25%,” the Chief Minister said.
The meeting was informed that the reforestation project will be implemented in the katcha areas of Matiari and Jamshoro districts. “In the first phase of the project, reforestation will cover 34,995 hectares,” the PPP session was briefed.
Sindh CM also expressed frustration over the delay in implementing the Marble City project and directed that it be carried out promptly.
