Work on Karachi, Hyderabad Motorway to start soon

[Salman]

ISLAMABAD - National Highways Authority (NHA) will start work on Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway (M-9) Project soon.
Implementation on the M-9 project was priority of the authority and Sindh Government has been facilitating NHA in administrative matters to ensure better, qualitative communication service to the people,informed an official of the NHA Tuesday.
He said that 136 km long Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway was an important project not only in the perspective to have better communication facilities to the people of both cities but is a part of Karachi-Lahore Motorway (KLM) project to facilitate the people of the entire country. He said that almost all work except mutation of 200 acres of land at District Jamshoro has been completed and hopefully physical work on this project will be started within calendar year 2014.
The official said that this project needs 6868 acres of land for its reserved Right of Way out of which 5296 acres of land has so far been mutated in favour of the NHA while remaining land expect 200 at Jamshoro is ready for mutation.
To a question, he said that presently Super Highway was in dilapidated condition due to heavy traffic and expiry of its designed period.
He said for repair and improvement of the highway, NHA approved periodic maintenance schemes under Annual Maintenance Plan (AMP) 2013-14 amounting to Rs 305.28 million.
It is worth to mention here that twice in the past few years the NHA awarded the contract to two firms on BOT basis but both failed to complete financial close as per conditions of the contract and their contracts had to be terminated.
The project will cost Rs 6.3 billion and the scope of work includes expansion of the road from four to six lanes and provision of service areas.
In September 2006,the Authority had signed a concession agreement for construction of the 136 km M-9 with Standard Construction but the contract was cancelled next year as the firm failed to complete financial close in time. In 2011 the NHA awarded the contract of construction of Karachi- Hyderabad Motorway (M-9) to Malaysian Construction Company M/s Binapuri Holding, on BOT basis with concessionaire period of 28 years. However the NHA was forced to terminate the contact in September 2012 as the said firm failed to complete financial close in stipulated time. The Super Highway begins north of Karachi at the end of Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road, near junction of Karachi Northern Bypass (also known as M-10). It is connected with the Northern Bypass with a trumpet interchange. Then it continues out of the city. From there it continues on a north-east track and forms a junction with the N-5 via a link road.
The highway ends outside of Hyderabad,in the suburban town of Kotri with a cloverleaf interchange where it merges into the N-5.The M-9 Motorway will have seven interchanges, two service areas at the midway points and 16 toll plazas on entry and exit points.