KARACHI: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Sunday inaugurated the 38km-long Lyari Expressway and expressed the hope that the project’s completion would help improve transport facilities in Karachi to a great extent.

He said there were many hurdles, including removal of encroachments, in the way of the expressway and as a result its cost went up from Rs5.5 billion to Rs10bn.

The Lyari Expressway project was launched in May 2002 and the National Highway Authority had expected to complete it in 30 months — that was in November 2004. But work on the project remained suspended for years, sometimes due to lack of funding and sometimes due to relevant authorities’ inability to remove encouragements around Lyari River.

With four interchanges at Sohrab Goth, Manghopir, Sir Shah Suleman and Maripur, Lyari Expressway has 20 major bridges. The expressway will not only significantly improve the flow of traffic in Karachi, but it will also help reduce flood damage to areas along the river.

Says general elections will be held in July

Mr Abbasi said that the motorway was also in the last phase of its completion which would help stabilise the country’s economy.

He said that the development package announced by the federal government for Karachi would yield positive results in short as well as long term.

The prime minister said that the general elections in the country would be held in July and the party having mandate of people would form the next government.

“There is a need for continuity of democracy for the progress of the country and policies should remain over and above politics,” he said.

Mr Abbasi said that with the completion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor the region along with Pakistan would make progress.

He said Central Asian countries and Afghanistan were keenly witnessing the completion of the CPEC which was part of the Chinese government’s One Belt, One Road signature project. He expressed the hope that CPEC projects would generate vast job opportunities.

Law and order situation

Presiding over a meeting at the Governor House, Prime Minister Abbasi said that the overall law and order situation in Karachi had improved significantly due to the sacrifices rendered by law enforcement agencies.

The prime minister was given a briefing on the law and order situation in Sindh with particular reference to Karachi.

He praised the law enforcement agencies for restoring peace in the province, but cautioned them that there was no room for complacency. Law and order was a high priority agenda for the government because without peace and stability economic potential of the country could not be harnessed, he added.

The prime minister said the federal government would continue to extend full support to the Sindh government for maintaining law and order.

He said there should be better coordination among the agencies at federal and provincial levels to maintain peace and security across the country.

He praised Rangers and police for successful holding of international events in Karachi and expressed satisfaction that the investors’ confidence had been restored.

Mr Abbasi said the development process would continue with full support of the federal government and it would go a long way in terms of consolidating the gains through security operation.

The prime minister was briefed on the recent extrajudicial killings in the metropolis. He lauded prompt investigation into these incidents and directed the authorities concerned to bring the culprits to justice without delay.

He stressed the need for effective safeguards for protection of innocent citizens against criminal abuse of authority.

Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of State for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to the PM Dr Musadik Malik, Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Sial, Karachi Corps Commander Lt Gen Shahid Baig Mirza and other senior civil and military officials attended the meeting.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2018