ISLAMABAD, 18 December 2004 — President Pervez Musharraf has said that ongoing mega projects would change the face of Karachi within three years.
He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the reconstruction of M.A. Jinnah Road and Moulvi Tameezuddin Khan Road in Karachi yesterday.
Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Ghauri, Govenor of Sindh Dr. Ishtarul Ebad and top civil and military officials were present on the occasion.
“Pakistan is a big country and we are moving forward,” the president said. Lyari Expressway, Northern Bypass and other mega projects would help in the development of Karachi, he said.
Musharraf called on all stakeholders of the city to play their role in the development of Karachi.
Musharraf was briefed that the Karachi Port Trust will start building a 500-meter- high port tower in the city soon.
Reconstruction of M.A. Jinnah Road from the Jinnah Bridge to Keamari Bridge including a flyover will be completed in 15 months at a cost of Rs. 455 million. The Rs. 447 million Moulvi Tameezuddin Khan Road will also be completed in the same period.
Musharraf said there were some people who were politicizing the Kalabagh dam issue for their vested interests but the majority did not have any idea about the benefits of the project. He announced that he would go to Sindh and the NWFP to remove people’s apprehensions about the dam. He also said that he would ask the ministers and parliamentarians to campaign for a consensus on the new dams.
He said the Kalabagh dam was politicized for the last 30 years. “I am not giving a deadline for any big water project but I assure the nation that some of these projects will be started very soon,” he said.
Musharraf said at the inauguration of the Mekran Coastal Highway that the government was spending Rs 20.3 billion on the development of Balochistan. This was the highest allocation for Balochistan ever made by any government.
