KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday said his government is committed to boosting the agricultural economy through climate and disaster-resilient infrastructure, following an incident on June 20 in Sukkur. The gates of the barrage were changed.
Shah presided over a joint meeting with officials of the Irrigation Department and the Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Effects (SPHF) project at the Chief Minister’s House. It is an important step. Water resources and infrastructure.
Initiated in response to the collapse of a gate at the Sukkur barrage on June 20, the project aims to replace all 66 gates of the historic structure, including the canal gates, he added.
Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro while briefing the Chief Minister said that this project is on the way to completion in three years, at that time major civil works are going on.
Shuro said the comprehensive rehabilitation project also includes the construction of a large cofferdam. He added that for the first time after the construction of the barrage, the floors, piers and built-in parts will be inspected and repaired.
He said that the first phase focused on replacing 16 gates starting from the left bank dividing wall. He added that the construction of stage-1 cofferdam began on September 16, and Irrigation Secretary Zarif Khero personally supervised the replacement of 16 main gates on October 20.
A total of 510 sheet piles for the upstream cofferdam have been successfully installed, while work on the downstream sheet piles began on November 26, 16 out of 594 piles have already been driven, the minister said. He added that along with delivery of steel sheet piles and geomembrane sandbags to the site, temporary access for transportation of materials and equipment has been completed.
He said that the 24 billion rupees Sukkur barrage project will also work better. The project is scheduled to be completed by February 23, 2027, with an additional defect liability period of one year, he added.
SPHF CEO Khalid Shaikh gave updates on construction of houses for flood affected families. He informed the Chief Minister that more than one million bank accounts have been opened to facilitate direct transfer of funds for reconstruction of houses.
Sheikh said that funds have been distributed to 810,000 beneficiaries, resulting in the completion of 475,000 houses, 300,000 families have already shifted to their new homes.
Shah said the SPHF initiative reflects the provincial government’s broad vision to build disaster-proof infrastructure and improve the quality of life of flood-affected communities. He appreciated the progress, and stressed the importance of maintaining momentum in both the housing and irrigation projects to ensure timely delivery.
Interior Minister Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Jabbar Khan, Chief Secretary Asif Haider Shah, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Agha Wasif, Advocate General Hasan Akbar, Finance Secretary Fayaz Jatoi, Law Secretary Ali Ahmad Baloch and others also participated in the meeting.