KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Friday inaugurated a newly constructed bridge on River Indus which links the divided districts of Thatta and Sujawal.
The chief minister while inaugurating the bridge said that it will pave the way to transport heavy machinery from Karachi Port to Tharparkar to install coal-based power plants.
CM Murad said that old Thatta – Sujawal Bridge was constructed about fifty years ago and had developed cracks in structure which hampered the development schemes of the government in the region.
“The big issue was how to transport heavy machinery of coal-fired power plants to Thar coal field,” he said. Therefore, the Sindh government decided to construct the bridge from its own resources.
He said that this bridge has been constructed within a period of 19 months at a cost of Rs2.9 billion, and is the first bridge to be constructed on the River Indus by the provincial government from its own resources.
CM Murad said that the bridge connects the two districts of Thatta and Sujawal divided administratively recently as per the desires of the people of the division.
The new structure is a four-lane bridge as compared to the old bridge, which has two lanes and as also be used simultaneously for smooth flow of traffic. Murad suggested that the old bridge should be used for light traffic including motorbikes.
Chief Minister Murad said that the new bridge would usher the area, up to the desert of Thar, in new vistas of development and prosperity. Thar desert has black gold to provide power to the whole country.
He appreciated the Thar Coal Authority, the executing agency of bridge and gave appreciation letters to the concerned officers and the contractors.
He announced to construct two more bridges on River Indus, one at Zulfikarabad and other one at Kandhkot – Ghotki.
He also said that they have already constructed a bridge on River Indus at Jhirk- Mulla Katyar, which will be inaugurated soon.
