Murad okays Rs66bn to rebuild 8,620km flood-damaged roads

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah chaired a meeting on Wednesday to review the overhauling of the roads damaged by heavy rains and floods, and approved Rs66 billion for the reconstruction of 8,620 kilometres of provincial roads with the support of donor agencies.

The meeting that was held at the CM House was attended by Works & Services Minister Zia Abbas Shah, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, Planning & Development Chairman Hassan Naqvi, Principal Secretary to CM Fayaz Jatoi, Works & Services Secretary Shariq Ahmed and others.

The CM said in his opening remarks that due to heavy rains during the month of July and August 2022, Sindh had faced an unprecedented situation, as the infrastructure had been badly affected.

He added that most of the roads and associated infrastructure had been damaged, and the remaining roads were in a severely dilapidated condition, requiring immediate repair and rehabilitation to enable the connectivity of inter- and intra-district road network.

Assessment

The CM was told that the works & services department had carried out a district-wise survey of damages caused to the roads and other infrastructure, and prepared a district-wise restoration plan in this regard.

Eight hundred and one roads under the purview of the provincial government that have a total length of 8,620km have been affected. Funds required for the rehabilitation of the road infrastructure is Rs94.12 billion.

The CS told the CM that the Asian Development Bank had also appointed a consultant to verify the data on the flood-related damages in the province.

The CM approved Rs66 billion to reconstruct the 8,620km of roads, and directed the planning & development and works departments to ensure the quality of the roads, and construct conduits, bridges and siphons where the passage to rain or sewerage water was required to be given.

Shah said the Sindh government had to construct climate-change-resilient long-life roads, so the construction should happen in line with that and the material used for it should be done accordingly.

Small roads

CM Shah also directed the P&D chairman to work out schemes for the up to three kilometres of small damaged roads connecting one village to another or to the city or within the city so that work on them could be started.

“I want you to prepare the data within three weeks, and submit it for my approval,” he ordered. He announced that he would start work on them next month.

Wheat

Shah chaired another meeting at the CM House, where he reviewed the wheat stocks available with the provincial government, and approved the procurement of 300,000 tonnes of wheat from the Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation (Passco) so that the food requirement up to the beginning of March could be met.

Food Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla briefed the CM that during the 2022-23 season the food department had released 721,000 tonnes of wheat, while 379,000 tonnes were still available with the department.

He added that 300,000 tonnes of wheat was required so that the wheat requirement until the harvest of the new crop in March could be met. The CM approved the procurement of 300,000 tonnes of wheat from Passco.