Managing Director of Sindh Mass Transit Authority Altaf Hussain Sario said that the yellow line service project will start soon, which will cost about 430 million dollars. Plans are in progress for the construction of a new bridge at Korangi, while the Jam Sadiq bridge has been repaired several times over the past 30 years, the bridge still needs extensive repairs.
These views were expressed on the occasion of a visit to the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI). KATI President Faraz-ur-Rahman, KITE Limited CEO Zubair Chhaya, Senior Vice President Nighat Awan, Vice President Muslim Mohammadi, Focal Person Farrukh Qandhari, Former Presidents Saleem-uz-Zaman, Masood Naqi, Danish Khan, Johar Qandhari, Ehtshamuddin, Syed Farrukh Mazhar, Project Director Karachi Mobility Project BRT, Yellow line Ameer Fazal and other members and senior officials were also present. Altaf Sario added that an international construction expert inspected the Jam Sadiq bridge a few years ago and declared it to be in a dilapidated condition and its lifespan was between 0 and 7 years.
He said that after the report of the international consultant, instead of taking any risk, the construction work will be started by closing the bridge. MD Mass Transit said that the condition of the bridge is so dilapidated that they were considering demolishing it and building a new bridge. However, in PC One, the repair of the bridge has been approved at an estimated cost of 0.9 million dollars, which will be completed in 18 months, while the construction of a new bridge has been estimated at 28 million dollars. He said that the development work will be completed through a joint committee by incorporating all the suggestions of KATI.
Earlier, KATI President Faraz-ur-Rahman said that Karachi is the economic hub of the country and there are serious problems with transport, but the People’s Bus Service and Green Line projects are revolutionary projects in the city in which international standard transport facilities are available to the citizens. He said that the traffic problem in Korangi industrial area becomes serious during rains. Due to the flood on the EBM causeway, the flow of traffic is blocked due to which the entire traffic load comes to the Jam Sadiq Bridge. President KATI said that steps should be taken immediately to repair the Jam Sadiq Bridge. On this occasion, President KATI announced a committee in consultation with Sindh Mass Transit Authority, which includes Senior Vice President Nighat Awan, Former President Danish Khan, focal person Farrukh Qandhari, Talha Ali and Nasir Sheikh. The committee will continue to cooperate with the Mass Transit Authority on the Korangi Industrial Area proposals and construction of the Jam Sadiq Bridge.
Zubair Chhaya, CEO of KITE Limited, said that the green belt of Korangi Industrial Area roads should be used for the yellow line service, reducing the width of the roads and providing bus service will make the traffic problems more serious. He suggested that no underground station be set up in the project, as other underground projects in the city are in bad condition and get flooded during rains. He said that the repair of Jam Sadiq Bridge should be started soon because Korangi Causeway will not be usable after heavy rains during monsoon from May next year and due to the closure of Jam Sadiq Bridge, Korangi Industrial Area will be cut off from Karachi. He said that whether the Jam Sadiq bridge should be repaired according to international standards or a new bridge should be constructed, KATI will continue to cooperate fully with the government.
Korangi project focal person Farrukh Qandhari said that uninterrupted flow of traffic should be ensured during the repair of Jam Sadiq. He said that the foundations of the bridge are badly affected and timely repairs of the bridge should be completed before any untoward incident takes place.
Former President Masood Naqi said that alternative routes should be taken care of during the repair of the bridge. Even before this, traffic jams remained for many hours due to the repair of the Jam Sadiq Bridge. He said that proper planning is mandatory before development works.
