Flyover, underpass: Karachiites distressed as Bahria Town projects stalled

[Salman]

Flyover, underpass: Karachiites distressed as Bahria Town projects stalled

KARACHI:
The stay order on the construction of a flyover and underpasses near the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine in Karachi’s Clifton area can delay the project and force citizens to bear inconvenience in the form of traffic jams and other civic problems.
The Sindh High Court issued the stay order on construction work on Bahria Town project for ten days due to a complaint by the Defence Housing Authority.
When these projects were initiated, the residents of Karachi expressed an unbelievably high level of pleasant surprise since it was the first time in the history of Pakistan that a private organisation was taking part in the development of the city.
This model is already being followed in all developed countries, including Dubai where even for retail projects like Mall of Emirates and Dubai Mall, bridges and road infrastructure has been developed by the government.
This Rs1.8 billion project is being financed by Bahria Town to help solve the traffic issues and serve many generations, and is the first public infrastructure project in Pakistan’s history being funded by private developer. In addition to this, Bahria Town has organized free meals at the Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine every Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, which attract a heavy crowd.
The residents of Karachi were startled to see the fast pace of work on these projects and it seemed that the projects would be finished in an unbelievably short span of time. They could not wait to see the completion of these state-of-the-art landmark projects in their city.
But now they have expressed surprise on the 10-day ban on further work on these projects. They have expressed hope that the work will resume soon on these unique projects which will solve their traffic problems.
The completion time of the project is only four months and in case the project is delayed or halted, it will create havoc for the citizens of Karachi.
All NOCs and approvals for the project by relevant authorities are already in place. According to sources, all environmental studies were completed before the start of these projects and IEEE was acquired from the relevant department. The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has also issued an NOC. Rs130 million betterment charges, which were the only requirement for the project, have already been paid as outer development/ betterment charges.
Other sources have learnt that these projects are 100% in the jurisdiction of the city government.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 3rd, 2014.