KARACHI: Expressing grave displeasure and concern over the minimal progress on the Karimabad Underpass project in the past 17 months, Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah directed the local government department on Monday to expedite the construction work that caused severe traffic congestion in and around the vicinity.

Initiated in June last year under the Karachi Development Authority (KDA, the project was expected to be completed in two years. But it progressed at a snail`s pace and the digging and constructionwork piled miseries on people due to frequent traffic jams that also slowed down vehicular traffic on the major streets in Central district.

The chief minister, who presided over a meeting to review progress of Karimabad Underpass and two other important projects of the city, was irked to learn that only 300 meters of the 1,080-meter underpass were completed and overall the physical progress of the project was merely 35 per cent. Similarly, the two other projects Korangi Causeway Bridge and Malir Expressway also faced inordinate delays.

A press statement issued from the Chief Minister House said that the CM directed the local government department to submit a date-wise plan for the three projects.

`Why is this ordinate delay being faced in completing the projects when the local government department.

`I want you to submit a detailed plan with completion dates of all three projects and then I won`t tolerate any delay,` he said categorically.

The meeting held at the CM House was attended among others by Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani, Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi, Local Government Secretary Khalid Hyder Shah and project directors Niaz Soomro and Zulfiqar Abro.

During the briefing, the chief minister was told that the Karimabad underpass was a Rs3.8 billion project while the length of the underpass was 1,080 meters of which 300 meters had been completed. It was also informed that out of the 212 precast girders, 151 had been completed and overall the physical progress of the project was 35 per cent.

The CM directed the local govern-ment department to provide a proper and effective drainage system in the underpass so that rainwater might not accumulate into it.

Answering a question, Mr Shah was told that a roundabout in front of Meena Bazaar and Bazaar-i-Faisla was being developed to regulate the traffic movement.

Briefing the CM about the construction of the bridge at Korangi Causeway, it was disclosed that the Rs6.4 billion project was scheduled to be completed on Jan 3, 2025, which might not be met.

The chief minister directed the local government minister to personally monitor the progress of the bridge so that it could be completed in time.

It was informed that the 300 out of 400 piles had been completed and out of the 600 girders, 504 completed. The overall progress of the project is 30 per cent.

The CM was told that Malir Expressway was a 38.889km project from Jam Sadiq to Kathore Bridge.