NHA Apprises NA Panel of Progress on All Motorway-Related Projects

The construction of the M-6 Sukkur-Hyderabad motorway, through a public-private partnership, will soon be started, as the process of land acquisition and design finalization is in progress, the National Highway Authority (NHA) informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Communications on Monday.

The National Assembly Standing Committee met with Acting Chairman, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, in the chair.

In their briefing, the NHA officials said that the 306-kilometer project would pass through six districts.

The committee recommended NHA that an interchange should be constructed on the Sukkur-Multan motorway (M-5) to facilitate the public and support trade in the area.

The NHA Member (South Zone) Karachi apprised the committee of the rehabilitation of Garho-Keti Bandar Road. He informed that the Garho-Keti Bandar section (Package III) was spread over 25 kilometers and it was 52.13% completed. The commencement date of the project was June 25, 2010, and the revised date of completion was December 25, 2013, he said. He underlined that the contractor had suspended the work since July 2013 and the case was under trial in the court of law.

The committee took serious notice of the delay in completion of the Garho-Keti Bandar section and directed the Ministry of Communications to hold an inquiry and submit a report within 15 days.

The committee was also briefed on the progress made about the construction of the Sassui (Chilia) toll plaza. It was informed that the toll plaza was located at 100-km + 500-km sections. The invitation to bid was advertised on March 31, 2021, and the contract was awarded on a net-guaranteed monthly-fixed revenue basis to M/s Shah Latif Enterprises that was operating on fixed revenue basis of Rs. 3,182,786.00. The committee sought six-month comparative data on the count of traffic (heavy/light transport vehicles) passing through the Sassui (Chilia) toll plaza and details regarding all the bidders.

The NHA representatives also briefed the committee on the construction of an additional 128-km carriageway from Petaro to Sehwan (N-55). They said Package 1A (from Mehran University to Petaro) and Package 1B (from Petaro to Khanate) for 20 kilometers each were funded by the government of Sindh and were 100% complete. Package 1C (from Khanate to Manjhand) for 24 kilometers was awarded to the lowest bidder who could not perform at the site, resultantly, NHA terminated the contract. The contractor filed a suit in Islamabad High Court and the hearing of the case was fixed for October 21, 2021.

The Member (North Zone) Peshawar briefed the committee on Kohat-Jand road’s 123-km additional carriageway. He informed that the scope of the project was dualization and improvement of the existing Indus Highway (N-55) from Sarai Gambila to Kohat. He added that the project consisted of Package I (from Sarai Gambila to Karak section) spread over 60.85km and Package III (from Karak to Kohat section) for 66.80km. The overall progress of Package-I is 82% while for Package II is 72%, while the revised date of completion of both projects is November 22, 2021, he said. The committee was also informed about the issues facing the public relating to the contractor. To this, the committee directed NHA to resolve the issues.

The Member (North Zone) Peshawar, in his briefing on the progress of work on Chitral-Gilgit road, informed the panel that the project was divided into four packages. The Package I is awarded and commencement is underway, while Package II and Package III have been approved by the NHA Executive Board, and award of these sections is underway. The work for Package IV is in the procurement stage. He further informed that the project will be completed within two years after commencement of work at the site, subject to settlement of land issues by District Management and handing over of land to NHA.

The Member (West Zone) Quetta apprised the committee of the progress of Hub Bridge. He said that due to heavy rain and outflow of excess water from Hub Dam, the Hub Bridge was damaged. The committee recommended that the repair of the Hub Bridge should be carried on immediately, and the remaining work on the 2.5km portion of Khuzdar to Shahdadkot road be completed on a priority basis.

The Member (North Zone) Peshawer briefed the Committee regarding Ayub Bridge at Havelian which was badly damaged due to heavy rain during the last three months. The committee recommended rehabilitating the Ayub Bridge immediately.

The committee members, including Moulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, Prince Muhammad Nawaz Allai, Imran Khattak, Rana Muhammad Ishaq Khan, Syed Abrar Ali Shah, Syed Ayaz Ali Shah Shirazi, Usama Qadri, Muhammad Aslam Khan, Mir Khan Muhammad Jamali, Jai Parkash, Dr. Darshan, Ramesh Lal and the senior officers from the Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Law & Justice and Pakistan Post attended the meeting.

Faiz Paracha is a seasoned broadcast journalist with over 15 years’ experience in reporting and e...



Get Alerts

Follow ProPakistani to get latest news and updates.


ProPakistani Community

Join the groups below to get latest news and updates.



>