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Tuesday November 05, 2024

Design of Malir Expressway changed to reduce environmental impact

Route diverted to exclude more than 20 goths of the PS-88 Malir constituency which would have been affected otherwise.

By Qaseem Saeed
March 16, 2021
Photo: File

The government of Sindh has decided to change the design of the Malir Expressway in a bid to reduce the environmental impact of the expressway's construction.

According to sources, the change in design will exclude more than 20 goths of the PS-88 Malir constituency which would otherwise have been affected.

Sources further revealed that the new route of the expressway will now be diverted right after the Quaidabad flyover ends. As a result, many of the houses and people's agricultural lands that were previously being affected by the construction will now be saved.

Per authorities, most of the lands that the expressway covers are the property of the government, therefore, matters related to compensation will also be tackled more easily.

The new route of Malir Expressway will, however, still affect Goth Gulshan Maryam near Jam Kanda Road, while the approval of the new design will be sought from the Sindh Cabinet.

The NED University and the National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak) will submit a technical report related to the change in design to the Sindh government, sources added.

It may be recalled that the foundation stone of the Malir Expressway was laid by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in December 2020, while it was built under a public-private partnership for Rs27 billion.

The Sindh government has three years to complete the construction of the expressway.