Lyari project: NA panel seeks PSDP funding

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Economic Affairs has proposed removing the Lyari Elevated Freight Corridor Project from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode and including it in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). On Friday, officials from the National Highway Authority (NHA) informed the committee that the project was originally to be completed at a cost of Rs68 billion but delays have led to cost escalation. They said the Lyari Expressway runs along both sides of the Lyari River, and the plan was to divert heavy traffic from the expressway onto this corridor. The purpose of the corridor was to provide a separate road for heavy traffic. A committee member, Javed Hanif Khan, questioned if the Lyari Elevated Freight Corridor project had been dropped. He asked why did projects for Karachi and Sindh always go under the PPP mode. He said heavy traffic enters Karachi even during the day, which is why this project was initiated. "It was only a 15–16 km corridor project yet it has been dropped. NHA officials said they had consulted the Sindh government, but the project had not been dropped in the manner suggested. The committee proposed shifting the project from PPP mode to PSDP and also directed that a position paper on the project be submitted by August 26.

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