KARACHI: Caretaker Chief Minister retired Justice Maqbool Baqer on Saturday laid the foundation stone of the Karimabad underpass in district Central.

The 1,080-metre-long and 6.1-metre-wide underpass is being constructed at a cost of Rs1.35 billion.

Initiated by the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), the project will be completed in a period of two years.

Mayor Murtaza Wahab and KDA Director General Naveed Anwar also accompanied the CM who performed the groundbreaking of the project.

The chief minister directed Mr Anwar to monitor the quality and speed of work of the underpass so that the project was completed on time.

He said that this project would benefit a large number of people and improve the flow of traffic.

Talking to Dawn, the KDA chief said that the stipulated time of completion of the project was two years as per the PC-1. “However, the KDA can complete it in one year provided it gets funds,” he claimed.

He said that the early completion of the underpass was required as it was situated in a busy commercial area.

He said that he had requested the chief minister for early release of the funds for the project. “The chief minister has assured that he would instruct the finance department to release funds timely,” he added.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2023