Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has greenlit the development of the Malir Expressway. The project has faced criticism for not taking into account the concerns of residents or the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.
The construction work on Malir Expressway began in early 2021. The road is a public-private project that will bridge the city’s popular areas with gated communities on the outskirts of Karachi.
The partnership has completed earthwork on the 15-km-long portion of the expressway, between Jam Sadiq Bridge and Quaidabad.
The project will see the construction of a 38.75-kilometer-long, 3×3-lane expressway stretching between Korangi Creek Avenue (DHA) and Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9) near Kathore by way of the existent Link Road.
The residents and experts of EIA have called SEPA’s approval “a mockery of the Sindh Environmental Protection Act 2014.” They referred to Section 17 (1) which reads:
No proponent of a project shall commence construction or operation unless he has filed with the Agency an IEE [initial environmental examination] or EIA, & has obtained from the agency approval in respect thereof.
According to Dawn, EIA’s recent report doesn’t have the SEPA chief’s signatures. The report states that environmental and social damages from the expressway will be insignificant as the highway provides a natural bund during the seasonal urban floods due to embankments.
It adds that the land acquisition for this project has been limited, which puts resettlement issues out of question as well.
