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KARACHI:
Gwadar-Pasni road to be completed on priority basis
KARACHI,
Feb 8: Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA) Maj-Gen Farrukh
Javed said here on Friday that Gwadar-Pasni section of the Makran
coastal highway will be completed at a cost of Rs3 billion on a
priority basis.
He was presiding over a meeting of NHA executive board, which
accorded approval of work award on the 132km-long Pasni-Gwadar
section of the highway to the Frontier Works Organization. The
meeting also discussed matters relating to rehabilitation and
improvement of the Karakorum Highway and the National Highway and
strategic roads maintenance fund rules-2001 amendments.
The meeting also considered matters regarding establishment of
vigilance directorate cells in the National Highway Authority and
NHA's administrative manual amendments, besides reviewing affairs
regarding compensation to the bereaved families of NHA employees.
The meeting was held in Karachi on the instruction of the Ministry
of Communications and Railways to forge unity and create better
understanding among the provinces.
Maj-Gen Javed said the NHA was striving for fulfilling national
obligation of construction and maintenance of highways in the
country. National highways, he said, plaid a significant role in the
socio-economic uplift and keeping in view its importance, the
highway network was being established on modern lines.
He pointed out that the Makran coastal highway was an extraordinary
project that would prepare the ground for economic development of
Balochitan and the coastal region would avail an opportunity of
development in particular.
Maj-Gen Javed stated that the construction activity on the
Lyari-Ormara and Gwadar-Pasni sections of the highway was in
progress.
Speaking about the Karakoram Highway, the NHA chairman said that the
highway possessed vital significance with regard to external trade
activities of Pakistan.
He said the objectives of establishment of vigilance directorate
cell in the Authority was an attempt to improve its performance and
remove hindrances in way of completion of the projects.
He said the administrative affairs of the NHA were being further
improved so that it could complete the given assignments more
actively.
The member of the NHA executive board expressed satisfaction over
Lyari Expressway and Karachi Northern Bypass projects and said,
"it is satisfying that the affectees of these projects will be
cared for in particular for their resettlement."-APP
[Econo-list] Govt
okays construction of Ormara-Pasni Coastal Highway
KARACHI: Ministry of Communications has given approval for the
construction of Ormara-Pasni Coastal Highway, Phase II of Karachi-Gwadar
Coastal Highway Project, official sources told The News on Saturday.
The Ormara-Pasni phase will be 197 kilometres long as total length of
the Karachi-Gwadar Coastal Highway is 533 kilometres. The second phase
will have carriageway (width) of 7.3 metres. The highway will also have
shoulders of three metres on both of its sides, providing extra width to
Estimated cost of the highway was about Rs16 million per kilometre but,
the sources said, it could go beyond citing that some parts of the
highway were too tough as those were on hillside and construction on
hillside needed more resources.
It is pertinent to note that the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) is
already working on two phases (first and third) of the project. First
one is Lyari-Ormara which is about 200 kilometres while the other
(third) is Gwadar-Pasni of about 150 kilometres.
Sources said about 87 kilometres of Lyari-Ormara phase-1 had been
completed while digging and filling works on 13 kilometres of the phase
had also been completed. Work of the Gwadar-Pasni, phase-3 of the
Karachi-Gwadar Coastal Highway inaugurated in August 2001 by the Gen
Pervez Musharraf, was also in full swing, sources said.
Experts observe that after completion of Gwadar Port and Karachi-Gwadar
Coastal Highway, Gwadar will become 'backbone for sea trade in the
region', as through the highway the area will be linked with the
southern port city of Karachi.
Meanwhile, sources said that Chinese engineers were currently preparing
a master plan for the Gwadar Port and a contract in this regard would be
signed soon. However, sources said, the ground-breaking ceremony of the
Rs1.2 billion port would be held on March 23 which was scheduled in
December, but was later postponed due to September 11 incident. Gwadar
Port will provide the shortest possible access to the landlocked
Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics.
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