Daily Times

KARACHI: Sindh Planning and Development Minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani has said that Ghotki-Ghouspur Bridge will be designed by keeping in view frequent floods, river streams, weather conditions and environmental changes of the region, while special care will be taken for giving way to the river water by minimising pressure on the banks.

This he said while presiding over a conference on Ghouspur-Ghotki Bridge at his office on Wednesday.

Public Private-Partnership Unit Director Fahad Ansari told the meeting that tender process would be completed by December 2017. The private developer will take the model to Nandipur Lab for hydraulic model study, which will determine the actual alignment and width and length of the bridge by giving final shape to the model.

He said private developer would be responsible for all operational risks involved in the project and as per agreement a third party independent engineering firm will monitor the technical specifications of projects also.

After the identifications of faults in the design of Khairpur-Larkana and Dadu bridges by renowned water expert Idrees Rajput and Special Irrigation Secretary Ahmed Junaid Memon it was decided to constitute a steering committee comprising the P&D chairman and members from irrigation, finance departments and independent engineering firm to oversee and monitor hydraulic model study design to ensure a faultless model.

Moreover , Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani directed authorities concerned that the length of the project should not be less than 1.7 kilometres and earnest efforts be made to complete land acquisition process so that ground breaking of the project might take place by March 2018.

Published in Daily Times, October 5^th 2017.