SAEED GHANI SAYS MEDIA REPORTS ABOUT CONTINUING CONSTRUCTION WORK ON FIRST PHASE OF SHAHRAH-E-BHUTTO COMPLETELY BASELESS
SAEED GHANI SAYS MEDIA REPORTS ABOUT CONTINUING CONSTRUCTION WORK ON FIRST PHASE OF SHAHRAH-E-BHUTTO COMPLETELY BASELESS
Karachi: Jan. 13: Sindh Local Government Minister, Saeed Ghani, has termed completely baseless and wrong the reports that emerged in a section of mainstream and social media that the newly launched first phase of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Expressway (Shahrah-e-Bhutto) is still incomplete. The Local Government Minister denied the reports on mainstream and social media about Shahrah-e-Bhutto while talking to media persons at the Sindh Assembly building on Monday.
He clarified that all the entry and exit routes to Qayyumabad and Korangi on Shahrah-e-Bhutto were open. He said that a single closed passage, which was being criticized in a section of the media, was being built for connectivity between Quaidabad and the M-9 motorway that is still under construction.
Ghani told media persons that the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Expressway was a splendid project having several benefits for the Karachiites. He said that two days ago the first phase of the expressway had been inaugurated for fast travel between Qayyumabad to Shah Faisal Colony and airport. He said the work to expand the expressway till Quaidabad would be completed in the next two months while the project would be fully constructed till Khathore by December this year. The Local Government Minister said that he inspected the entire phase one of the project earlier in the day and verified that no exit or entry routes for connectivity to Sharea Faisal, Shah Faisal Town, Qayyumabad, and Korangi were closed. He said that only minor adjustments were made to properly fix the railings, and except for this slight maintenance work, no new construction work was carried out on the newly inaugurated portion of the expressway.
He said the route and direction signs installed on the expressway were of international standard and followed the signboard pattern used for the motorways. However, the project director has been asked to install signboards with directions, which could be easily understood by the expressway users. He opined that misleading and baseless videos shouldn’t be shared on mainstream and social media to misguide people about the new expressway.
Ghani recalled that motorcyclists should avoid using the expressway as it was meant for high-speed travel by the four-wheelers only. He said the small vehicles could travel on the expressway with a maximum speed limit of 100 km per hour, while large vehicles could use the same new facility with a maximum speed limit of 90 km per hour. He said motorcyclists should avoid using the expressway to avoid collisions. Ghani said the government would strictly enforce restrictions on rickshaws and motorcycles on the expressway. He said the 1122 ambulances, police mobile vans, and private security guards would be stationed on the expressway. He said that the rest of the phases of the expressway was still under construction so its users could see vehicles involved in the building operations. The Local Government Minister appealed to the motorists to show a positive attitude towards the new expressway while considering its benefits for them.
